In Minnesota, thirteen year old Daniel Hauser and his mother are on the lam today, seeking to avoid court ordered chemotherapy and radiation treatments. The boy apparently has a treatable cancer but stopped treatments after one month and substituted alternative care including herbs and vitamins for purported religious reasons. When the boy’s doctors called this to the attention of authorities, a local court received evidence and ordered that the treatments be reinstated.
That was all in the past. Today’s news is that testing showed the cancer returning, and the boy and his mother have disappeared, perhaps in the company of another woman who may be a California attorney. A national warrant has been issued for the mother’s arrest.
While adults may freely choose to refrain from medical treatment for religious reasons, a child may not nor may the parents decide such a weighty issue for him. The end of this story is not known, but it is a tragedy in the making that involves the life of a young man and the legal and moral consequences to his mother if it does not end well.
A blog on the blogger news network suggests the boy is illiterate and three years behind his age group.
A quick review of early blogs and comments suggests overwhelming support for the authorities and disagreement with the mother but not all. One commenter on another blog refers to the authorities and doctors as “medical nazis.”
