Court order issued in religious child neglect case

The case of Daniel Hauser is probably well-known by now, but in case it is not: Daniel Hauser is a 13-year old mentally handicapped boy who has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. Although virtually guaranteed to be deadly in the recent past, the prognosis for Hodgkin's disease is excellent now, with survival rates upward of 95 per cent. Daniel received one round of chemotherapy. The side effects being unpleasant, he did not want to get more. His parents then invoked religious reasons to refuse further treatment and although they are Catholics, they are also members of the Nemenhah, a religious organisation that claims to believe in alternology. Ordered by the court to undergo treatment, Daniel fled with his mom. Although it was widely speculated that they were heading for Mexico, where several dozen alternological clinics have set up shop in the area along the border with the US, sometimes lead by people with outstanding convictions against them, they were eventually found in California and brought back. There was a hearing and Minnesota Brown County District Court judge John R. Rodenberg issued a court order on 27 May 2009 clarifying what has happened so far and what is the course of action to follow from now on. The court order is an 11-page document, so I take out only the salient points. A request to close the proceedings for the public and to not disclose the medical report was denied on the grounds that the case had become public and that the public now has the right to know what happened and what motivated the decisions of the court, and that this right to know now outweighs the Hauser family's right to privacy. The arrest warrant against Colleen Hauser, Daniel's mother was retracted as promised because she returned voluntarily, after having fled. The matter of transferring Daniel's custody to BCFS The Hauser family asked for return of custody to them The guardian ad litem asked to keep custody out of the hand of the Hausers and stay with the BCFS or with a relative of Daniel's who has declared to be willing to care for him Arguments against: People are entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts. The facts are that Daniel's cancer responded well to the first round of chemotherapy and that subsequent failure to follow through has led to a grave worsening of this condition Insufficient assurance that the mother will not, again, leave with Daniel as she did last week The parents were still opposed to chemotherapy on May 25 and this was reported by several independent sources Arguments in favour: Daniel agrees to undergo chemotherapy, one round at a time, and wishes to be informed at every step Daniel now needs the support of his family, more than ever The father explicitly commits to follow through with the treatment plan for Daniel The mother agrees that Daniel's tumour has gotten worse and that the treatment plan proposed by the oncologist is necessary to save Daniel's life It is proposed to assign a nurse to the Hauser home to care for Daniel and to make sure the treatment plan is followed Decision The order is stayed, i.e. will not be executed, on the condition that the following conditions are strictly complied with. If not, the order will be executed and the matter will be brought back before the Court. A. Daniel and both his parents must continue with the chemotherapy. One additional round is not sufficient. B. The parents will make sure that Daniel will appear for his medical appointment on Wednesday, 27 May. C. Daniel will start with his chemotherapy on Thursday, May 28 and both he and his parents will comply with the treatment plan D. The physicians must keep the Court, the Guardian ad Litem and BCFS informed of Daniel's treatment status The hospital is specifically ordered to give Daniel all appropriate and available support Daniel does not understand his illness but seems to be trying to understand it now The parents are asked to work with the hospital to implement alternative therapies in addition to the chemotherapy but not instead of it. The judge also stated that:

If everyone does as they have now committed to do, Daniel is likely to recover from his disease and to live a full life.

A review hearing will be planned in approximately one month.