Minn. Mom, Son Flee Chemotherapy

[UNTflyer]

SLEEPY EYE, Minn. (AP) - A courtroom clash between medicine and faith took a criminal turn, with police around the country on the lookout Wednesday for a Minnesota mother who fled with her cancer-stricken 13-year-old son rather than consent to chemotherapy.

Colleen Hauser and her son, Daniel, were seen as recently as Tuesday morning in Southern California and might be headed to Mexico to seek treatment for Daniel's Hodgkin's lymphoma, authorities said Wednesday night. They would only say the pair's location was based on "reliable information."

A court-ordered X-ray on Monday showed a tumor growing in Daniel's chest, and doctors said it will probably kill him without conventional medical treatment.

Before she took off, Hauser told a judge that she wished to treat her son's cancer with natural healing methods advocated by an American Indian religious group known as the Nemenhah Band. But even that group's founder said Hauser made a mistake by running from the law.

"I just wish we could get to Colleen and tell her to come in. This is not going to go away. It's a court order," Brown County Sheriff Rich Hoffmann said. He said Hauser's husband was cooperating with investigators.

Hodgkin's lymphoma is a highly curable form of cancer when treated with chemo and radiation. But the teen and his parents rejected chemo after a single treatment, with the boy's mother saying that putting toxic substances in the body violates the family's religious convictions.

Hauser said she had been treating the boy's cancer instead with herbal supplements, vitamins, ionized water and other natural alternatives - a regimen based mostly on information she found on the Internet.

The Hauser family had been ordered to appear before a judge Tuesday for a hearing to consider chemo. But mother and son failed to show, and a warrant was issued for the mother's arrest.

[untbowler]

In this case the government needs to butt out. I know it sound bad, but let the family choose the treatment they want or follow their religious/cultural beliefs no matter how whacked out we might think it is.

This is a family matter that the government is trying to stick their nose in.

[oldguystudent]

In this case the government needs to butt out. I know it sound bad, but let the family choose the treatment they want or follow their religious/cultural beliefs no matter how whacked out we might think it is.

This is a family matter that the government is trying to stick their nose in.

So you're saying that no matter how whacky and almost certainly fatal it is for a 13 year old child, that they should be free to choose?

[UNTflyer]

In this case the government needs to butt out. I know it sound bad, but let the family choose the treatment they want or follow their religious/cultural beliefs no matter how whacked out we might think it is.

This is a family matter that the government is trying to stick their nose in.

I disagree. This is basically child abuse. Ionized water and herbs will not treat cancer. As an adult you are free to choose, but children are not.

[eeally]

All I know is if I am paying for this kids medical bills it will be one step closer to socialism. I don't see the big rush to find this family. If they were in Canada they would be on a waiting list anyway.

Serious, though I hope his parents get their head out of their ass and get him the treatment he deserves.

[SilverEagle]

I disagree. This is basically child abuse. Ionized water and herbs will not treat cancer. As an adult you are free to choose, but children are not.

In Texas it's medical neglect. I don't know if the State would take custody, or give custody to a family member who was on-board with getting conventional treatment. In the past, when Jehovah's witness parents refused blood transfusions for their children. the child was placed in the State's custody long enough for the transfusion to happen, then custody was given back to the parents.

[oldguystudent]

Just to be clear, for anyone against government intervention, you were totally for pulling the plug on Terri Schiavo right?

[UNTflyer]

Just to be clear, for anyone against government intervention, you were totally for pulling the plug on Terri Schiavo right?

Bad example, man. There was a lot of suspicion surrounding how she got to be in the state she was in.

Also, there was no plug to pull. It was a feeding tube. She was starved to death.

[KRAM1]

Seems to me this issue has been decided in the courts on numerous occasions. The parent, legally, does not have the right to withhold treatment. Whether you like it or not, from a legal standpoint the issue has already been decided. As a parent, it is totally beyond my scope of immagination that these folks would withhold treatment that they have been told has over a 90% chance of saving this kid's life. It is, indeed, a very sensitive issue when it comes to such matters, but as far as the courts are concerned...matter closed! This is certainly why the mother has fled with the boy. I doubt Canada...more like Mexico perhaps. Tough deal, and my heart goes out to this young man...I pray for a miracle.

[GreenBat]

Seems to me this issue has been decided in the courts on numerous occasions. The parent, legally, does not have the right to withhold treatment. Whether you like it or not, from a legal standpoint the issue has already been decided. As a parent, it is totally beyond my scope of immagination that these folks would withhold treatment that they have been told has over a 90% chance of saving this kid's life. It is, indeed, a very sensitive issue when it comes to such matters, but as far as the courts are concerned...matter closed! This is certainly why the mother has fled with the boy. I doubt Canada...more like Mexico perhaps. Tough deal, and my heart goes out to this young man...I pray for a miracle.

Holy Mess in My Pants. I agree with KRAM again. Maybe the world is coming to an end or KRAM and I aren't really that different.