Judge says no to Nemenhah "healing"

Minn. judge rules teen must see cancer doctorA Minnesota couple who refused chemotherapy for their 13-year-old son was ordered Friday to have the boy re-evaluated to see if he would still benefit from the cancer treatment--or if it may already be too late.

Brown County District Judge John Rodenberg found Daniel Hauser has been "medically neglected" by his parents, Colleen and Anthony Hauser, who belong to a religious group that believes in using only natural healing methods practiced by some American Indians.

The judge allowed Daniel to stay with his parents, noting they love him and acted in good faith, but he gave them until Tuesday to get an updated chest X-ray and select an oncologist.

If the tumor has not grown and if Daniel's prognosis remains as optimistic as doctors testified last week, then chemotherapy and possible radiation appear to be in Daniel's best interest, Rodenberg wrote.

"The state has successfully shown by clear and convincing evidence that continued chemotherapy is medically necessary," he wrote, adding he would not order chemotherapy if doctors find the cancer has advanced to a point where it is "too late."The crux of the problem seems to be these dueling views:Rodenberg found Daniel has only a "rudimentary understanding at best of the risks and benefits of chemotherapy. ... he does not believe he is ill currently. The fact is that he is very ill currently."And:"The Hausers believe that the injection of chemotherapy into Danny Hauser amounts to an assault upon his body, and torture when it occurs over a long period of time," Johnson said Friday. "They believe that it is against the spiritual law to invade the consciousness of another person without their permission."It would be one thing if Daniel said, "I know I'm seriously ill, but I believe Native healing is the way to go." But he doesn't even believe he's sick.

This isn't a matter of belief; he either has cancer or he doesn't. If he doesn't understand that, he's not qualified to decide the best course of treatment.

No doubt Daniel is confused because his parents and lawyers are using shifting and contradictory arguments:

1) Daniel is seriously ill but believes Native healing is the best treatment.

2) Daniel isn't seriously ill and doesn't need any treatment.

This is a sure sign of intellectual incompetence. It suggests the parents are no more qualified than Daniel is to choose what to do. Hence the judge made the right decision.

For more on the subject, see Phony "Band" Sells Healing and
Hodgkin's Patient is Nemenhah "Elder."