Judge Orders Teen to Cancer Treatment

Thanks to Matt Drudge for keeping this story from Brieitbart.com up on his page for a couple of days toward the end of last week. It's an important and disturbing story.

I first heard of the story on the Sean Hannity show 2 weeks ago or so and then saw the young man and his dad on Hannity and Colmes that same evening on FoxNews. He was an especially articulate young man and my wife and I assumed he was probably home schooled.

Sean told his audience he would have Abraham Cherrix on the following week for the latest news in his pending court case. Maybe I missed it, but as far as I know Sean never followed up on this story. That's even more disturbing. (I'll write more about this on another post)

Please read the following AP story:

A judge ruled Friday that a 16-year-old boy fighting to use alternative treatment for his cancer must report to a hospital by Tuesday and accept treatment that doctors deem necessary, the family's attorney said.

The judge also found Starchild Abraham Cherrix's parents were neglectful for allowing him to pursue alternative treatment of a sugar-free, organic diet and herbal supplements supervised by a clinic in Mexico, lawyer John Stepanovich said.

Jay and Rose Cherrix of Chincoteague on Virginia's Eastern Shore must continue to share custody of their son with the Accomack County Department of Social Services, as the judge had previously ordered, Stepanovich said.

The parents were devastated by the new order and planned to appeal, the lawyer said.

Stepanovich said he will ask a higher court on Monday to stay enforcement of the order, which requires the parents to take Abraham to Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk and to give the oncologist their written legal consent to treat their son for Hodgkin's disease.

"I want to caution all parents of Virginia: Look out, because Social Services may be pounding on your door next when they disagree with the decision you've made about the health care of your child," Stepanovich said.

Phone calls to the Cherrix home went unanswered.

The lawyer declined to release the ruling, saying juvenile court Judge Jesse E. Demps has sealed much of the case.

Social Services officials have declined to comment, citing privacy laws.

After three months of chemotherapy last year made him nauseated and weak, Abraham rejected doctors' recommendations to go through a second round when he learned early this year that his Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymph nodes, was active again.

A social worker then asked a judge to require the teen to continue conventional treatment. In May, the judge issued a temporary order finding Abraham's parents neglectful and awarding partial custody to the county, with Abraham continuing to live at home with his four siblings.

Whatever happened to freedom of choice? If he was a she and was pregnant and wanted an abortion, all she would have to do is contact her high school counselor for a surreptitious trip to the local abortion clinic. No questions asked and the parents never need know.

My, what a duplicitous world in which we live!