Judge to decide case of Minn. boy resisting chemo

The Associated Press - Tuesday, May 12, 2009
MINNEAPOLIS

A Minnesota judge is weighing whether to force a 13-year-old boy who
claims to be a medicine man in his church to get chemotherapy for his
cancer - a treatment the boy and his parents have resisted for religious
reasons.

Daniel Hauser, of Sleepy Eye, has Hodgkin's lymphoma, and county
authorities are accusing his parents of medical neglect for not
following through with the chemotherapy and radiation treatment doctors
have recommended.

Doctors testified in court last week that Daniel could have a 90 percent
chance of being cured through chemotherapy and radiation. But they said
there's a 95 percent chance of death if the family decides to forgo the
treatment.

In written final arguments filed Tuesday, Brown County Attorney James
Olson asked the judge to order chemotherapy for the boy, who he says
isn't mature enough to make his own medical decisions. Olson wrote that
Daniel has a learning disability and cannot read, and he cited testimony
from doctors who said it doesn't appear the boy understands the severity
of his diagnosis.

Olson also raised questions about the Hausers' testimony that Daniel is
a medicine man and elder in the Nemenhah church, a religious
organization that advocates natural healing methods used by some Native
Americans. Those titles are given to every member of the church over 13
years of age, Olson said.

"Daniel's testimony indicated that he does not have a complete
understanding of what it means to be a medicine man or an elder," he wrote.

If the family doesn't comply with a potential court-ordered treatment
regimen, the county attorney and the boy's guardian ad litem wrote,
Daniel should be put in foster care to get the treatment.

But attorneys for Daniel and his family said the judge must decide
whether Daniel's parents had a "rational basis" for their decision to
stop chemotherapy - not whether they made the decision a "reasonable
person" would have made.

Philip Elbert, an attorney for Daniel, wrote that the Hausers' faced an
"unfair choice of two bad scenarios" for treatment and weighed all
options for his care in deciding on an alternative that fit better with
their religious beliefs.

"The parents in this case did not fail to act nor did they rely solely
on spiritual treatment methods for Daniel's medical care," Elbert wrote.

Daniel's mother, Colleen, has said she approved of using Western
medicine during a life-threatening emergency but says her son isn't in
medical danger. The family has also said their religious convictions say
the body shouldn't be harmed, and they said chemotherapy and radiation
were poisons.

Daniel's parents emphasized through their attorney the risks of
chemotherapy, questioning its effectiveness. And they said the action by
county authorities was violating their rights.

"The path advocated by the State is one of torture and criminal action,"
wrote their attorney, Calvin Johnson.

Daniel's lymphoma was diagnosed in January, and he was given one round
of chemotherapy in February. But instead of returning for a second round
of the treatment in March, the Hausers opted for an alternative
treatment involving a nutritious diet, drinking ionized water, and
taking vitamins and herbal supplements. His mother testified the regimen
was based mostly on information she found on the Internet.

An attorney for Shiree Oliver, the boy's guardian ad litem, wrote in
final arguments that the state has not recognized complementary and
alternative health care as a substitute for medical treatment.

"Even if Mr. and Mrs. Hauser are providing Daniel with complementary and
alternative care, they are still medically neglecting Daniel," the
attorney, Tom Sinas, wrote.

Judge John Rodenberg could issue a decision later this week.