All the RAve - the RAnts of RA

12 Comments:

At 7:36 AM,  Carolyn wrote...

Nicely done. I feel the same way you do. It is so insane how we as parents are losing our rights to agree with our children. I feel really sorry for the family. It is not fair. The parents obviously know thier son well enough to agree with his decision. After all it is his life and no one else's. What someone chooses to do with his or her life should be left up to the individual. As long as it is not hurting the family or the person who feels this way. I do not see any reason for anyone to get involved. I say leave them alone. You know it does not come down to concern for the family or the son. It is really about the money. Same thing with the school systems it is no longer about the good kids and those who want to learn but rather which child they will get more money from.  

At 5:07 PM,  Anonymous wrote...

The real underlying question is this: are people free to choose what medical intervention or not to choose any or are we all subject to the whims of the state to decide all matters for us? What is next? The state telling us all how many children to have and what their gender should be, as in China? 15 is old enough to chose to have an abortion without consulting their parents, but not old enough to make their own medical decisions with parental approval? The whole country has gone completely insane, but also old enough to be sentenced to die at the hands of the government for committing a crime, but not old enough to decide whether a viable alternative treatment is better than conventional treatment. Something is extremely rotten in Virginia to allow such nonsense to color their otherwise respectable place to visit.  

At 6:05 PM,  Anonymous wrote...

You've got a point. The state permits 16-year-olds to drive around with the equivalent of a bomb strapped in behind them (once they fill up the tank with gasoline), and drive down the freeway at 60-miles an hour.

Yet, it is far to dangerous for a mere child of 17, to decide whether or not they want to choose an alternative treatment to chemo. Does anyone else see anything wrong with this picture?  

At 6:09 PM,  Anonymous wrote...

I don't see what all the hub-bub is about. The government is killing another kid. So what? They've killed tens of thousands of kids across the globe in wars and "actions" - what's one more kid drugged and killed "for his own good" in the good ole' U S of A?  

At 6:53 PM,  Anne wrote...

I am a survivor of Hodgkin's Disease, and I completely understand Abraham's choice. While Hodgkin's Disease is the most curable form of cancer, what the news reports do not explain is that it is treated with one of the most toxic regimes of chemotherapy.

After enduring 7 months of grueling chemo myself, I quit treatment. I was in remission, but my oncologist was insisting on me "banking" cells for a future possible bone marrow transplant - which he explained would "bring me to the brink of death." I had had enough. I could not imagine anything worse than the chemo I had already endured for 7 months. I quit and refused to see a doctor again for over 2 years because my oncologist could not respect MY decision.

I was lucky that I sustained a full remission. Had I relapsed, I would have refused conventional treatment too. I do not believe this is a question of weighing the efficacy of alternative treatment, rather this is a question of Abraham's right to govern his own body.

As a fellow former cancer patient, I believe Abraham has the right to refuse treatment if he feels it will diminish the quality of his life. We owe him that dignity.

The saddest part to me is that Hodgkin's Disease affects so many young people. If Abraham were of the age of majority NOBODY could make him do any treatment he would not want. People need to know that while chemotherapy treatment can be efficacious for Hodgkin's Disease, it is a toxic treatment that no one should be forced into.  

At 8:55 PM,  Anonymous wrote...

Well now, you're just an idiot for posting something so obscure that has nothing to do with the topic at hand.
This judge is weak and inept. He's making a decision based on a lack of information and/or his own personal beliefs. May the judge become sympathetically violently ill when this kid has to endure chemotherapy.
I mean what is the qualification to become a "family court" judge? Is that like a cereal box thing or what?  

At 11:33 AM,  Anonymous wrote...

I think this is a slippery slope that I suggest set off major alarms for all parents with respect to their right to decide for their children...I shudder to think where this may evolve going forward. My heart is truly with Abraham and his family.
I can appreciate the other opinions posted though I would like to add that it's difficult to consider a viewpoint that includes "you're an idiot" as part of the post.  

At 12:07 PM,  Edward wrote...

I like your article. I don't know if you mentioned this or not, but the "government knows best" (praticed by Demicans and Republicrats today) and "doctor knows best" (practiced by the con-artists in white coats today) ideologies have a lot in common. Most obvious is the fact that both encourage one to give away money and freedom in order to secure the empty promises made by the figure-head. It only makes sense that these two will merge harmoniously like the nazis and communists did way back when since the end game for each is the exact same. Endless amounts of words have been written about the subjects of collectivism and personal freedom, but this case simplifies the matter and draws the battle lines more clearly than any other that I can recall. You're right; it's about freedom versus slavery. There is no middle ground, no "mixed economy", no other choice. Run away from accepting responsibility for your actions long enough and you will end up a slave. The sad thing is when enough people allow themselves to become slaves, it pulls the rest of us in.  

At 12:41 PM,  Anonymous wrote...

Thank you for a well expressed opinion. This matter, because of its absurdity, makes it easy to sound sensible. What this judge is thinking of is, frankly, beyond me. The state should always err on the side of staying OUT of people's business, rather than the other way around. The fact that: A. they had already tried a round of conventional treatment without lasting suceess; B. the child and the parents are in agreement with their choice of preferred treatment; C. the treatment sought by them is not unreasonable or inherently harmful, all in combination make this an absurd case to even bring before a judge. The fact that this judge ruled in this fashion is why we, as a nation, have become so disenchanted with our legal system. More often we are faced with a system bent on taking rights from us, rather than seeking to protect them, as was originally intended.

Those who work in health care (myself included) undedrstand that there are seldom black and white, right and wrong answers about treatment, especially with a disease like cancer. This young man should be supported and given credit for fighting for his rights, and those of all who follow him.  

At 7:01 PM,  Anonymous wrote...

Thank you for your article. I've just learned of Abraham Cherrix's situation and was so angry about the state interfering with his right to decided about this for himself, that I found your blog after a Google search.

You've kindly provided telephone numbers for the judge, but I was wondering if you or any of your readers have an email address or fax number for him? I'm in another country and I'd like to tell the judge what I think of his decision. Thanks.  

At 7:43 PM,  Annette M. Hall wrote...

I've searched and searched for e-mail addresses for the Accomack Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court and I keep coming up empty handed.

You should be able to contact the Judge Demps at:
"jdemps@courts.state.va.us" but I can't guarantee that address. That is the format other e-mail addresses seem to follow.

You can mail Judge Jesse E. Demps at:

Judge Jesse E. Demps
Accomack Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court
P. O. Box 299
23371 Front Street
Accomac, VA 23301-0299

Hope this helps.  

At 6:15 PM,  LK wrote...

I hope this gets to Abraham and his parents...I'm writing as a mother and as someone who has watched a loved one fight cancer. While every cell in my PhD educated brain questions the efficacy of alternative medicine, every fiber in my soul says what's most important is what the patient wants. Abraham has the absolute right to control his quality of life, and his parents have the absolute obligation to support his decision. Regardless of whether they, or his medical team, believes in the treatment, what matters most is that Abraham believes and choses to define what "quality of life". You are all in my prayers.  

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