BrianGarst.com

A teen cancer patient is fighting in court for his right to decide his own medical treatment.

The teen, who is known as Abraham, has Hodgkin’s disease, a cancer of the lymph nodes.

Three months of chemotherapy last year made him extremely weak. So when he learned in February that his cancer was active again, he turned — against doctors’ advice — to a sugar-free organic diet, herbs and visits to a clinic in Mexico.

. . .

Abraham’s parents face losing custody completely.

“What it boils down to is does the American family have the right to decide on the health of their child,” Jay Cherrix said, “or is the government allowed to come in and determine that themselves and threaten one way or the other to split our family up?”

Many believe parents who don’t seek medical treatment for their children are negligent. Sometimes they are right, but what about a situation like this one where the parents are seeking treatment, just not the treatment government prefers? Should they be able to dictate to the parents what specific treatment the child must receive? A It’s not an easy line to define, but in this instance government has gone too far. The social worker, on behalf of the government, is doing what they believe is best. But that is, contrary to what many think, a subjective conclusion. Many  if not all medical treatments come with potential side effects; who but the individual (or their legal guardian) is best qualified to weigh the costs and benefits of any treatment?

The definition of best, as relevant to this situation, is “having the most positive qualities”. But who defines what is positive and what is not? The doctors clearly have their definition. They believe that whatever is most beneficial to the patient’s health is positive, and therefore is better than any treatment they might judge to be less beneficial. The government shares that view. But what about the individual? They very well may not place the same value on health, or even their life, as the government does. Shouldn’t they have the right to make that decision themselves?

That’s why this is not just about parental rights, it’s also about government forcing its value system on the people. An individual should have the right to decide how much they value, for instance, quality of life over survival chances, and forgo debilitating treatments like chemotherapy if they so choose. Many Americans enjoy taking risks like jumping out of airplanes or riding a motorcycle. They are willing to accept a greater risk of death for the sake of excitement. Americans should have the freedom to prioritize their values how they please, instead of having them forced upon them.