The Minnesota teen who was dragged into a court battle to decide whether or not the state could force him to undergo chemo therapy, despite the protestations of his parents due to their religious beliefs rooted in alternative medicine.
In his ruling, Judge Rodenberg wrote:
“Brown County Family services has demonstrated a compelling state interest in the life and welfare of Daniel Hauser sufficient to override the fundamental constitutional rights of both parents and Daniel to the free exercise of religion and the due process right of the parents to direct the religious and other upbringing of the child.”
Dr. Bruce Bostrom says that without chemo-therapy Daniel will almost certainly die; he goes as far as to say that Daniel would have only a 5% chance of living without the toxic treatment.
The family of Daniel Hauser belong to a religious sect called the Nemenhah Band, a group based in Missouri that strongly believe in natural healing methods. Doctors from the Children’s Hospital, the Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota all gave testimony stating that Daniel would respond well to chemotherapy and would likely not survive another five years without it.
The judge commended the family’s belief in natural healing and in the Nemenhah Band as “genuine and strong”.
The judge cited several Minnesota statutes that require parents to provide “necessary medical care” to their children, and that “complementary and alternative health care” is not enough.
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