Child Protective Services

[David S]

http://www.kristv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3434010
AGUA DULCE-- The father of a twelve year old Agua Dulce girl who was allegedly abducted by her mother, says his wife was only trying to protect their daughter. Authorities arrested Michele Wernecke last night after she was found at a family ranch near Freer with her daughter Katie, who had been missing since Wednesday. Investigators say the abduction occurred after a judge ordered Katie and her three siblings be turned over to CPS because the child's parents refused to give Katie the required radiation treatment for her cancer. But Katie's father Edward Wernecke says the allegations aren't true.
"We don't have a lot of hope, I mean I'm devastated, my wife is devastated, we haven't been able to get any help, and this is all going to happen around us and we can't stop it, and we're scared," he said. Wernecke says fear drove his wife to run off with their Katie, who had been undergoing treatment for Hodgkin's Disease. Katie has undergone four chemotherapy treatments which have caused her to lose her hair. After a second opinion, a doctor said Katie would need to undergo radiation to kill cancer cells found in her chest.
"The doctor is forcing us to do this radiation treatment when there is no evidence there is a live cancer there right now, so why injure a child this way?" Edward Wernecke said. Edward says he's worried radiation treatments will stunt Katie's growth and lead to more health problems. The family had hoped to seek an alternative treatment for Katie, but they weren't given a chance to get a third opinion. Edward claims the doctor who ordered radiation treatment contacted Child Protective Services, and CPS received a court order to have the kids removed.
Edward Wernecke now hopes and prays a judge will give them a chance to find another doctor and alternative treatment to eventually give Katie a normal life. Edward says Katie is currently staying at the foster home of a licensed nurse. Her three other siblings are also in foster care. Michele Wernecke was arrested on the charge of interfering with child custody.
Online Reporter: Roxanne Carrillo

[David S]

The doctor sounds rather suspicious, seems he wants money more than to heal his patients honestly.

Now, further, I have to wonder what the hell the girl's siblings have to do with it - they don't have cancer, they aren't even involved, so why the hell would CPS need to take them away too?

My answer would be " another case of big government out of control" and yet another reason why I'm a Libertarian.

[David S]

Seems like the parents are acting like jackasses and not doing what parents should.

If the parents were contemplating something totally nuts like cobra venom injections or something equally insane then the CPS would have a legitimate case for putting the daughter in protectective custody. But there doesn't seem to be any such indication here. Chemo and radiation are not always successful and sometimes have serious consequences. The parents only want to decide what's right for their daughter. Also there is no rationale for putting the sons in foster care. The CPS is acting like the gestapo in my opinion.

[David S]

Happliy only one nut said the government should decide.

Whether the parents or the child should have the right to decide should depend on the age of the child. This girl being only 12 is too young to make this decision, at least in the eyes of the law. I don't think I would argue with that.

[David S]

OK now there are two nuts who said the government.

[David S]

OK now there are two nuts who said the government.

LOL to Libertarians calling people nuts

That must mean you were the other heretofore unidentified nut.

[David S]

I was one but only because the child is too young and the parents aren't providing her with treatment.

There was no indication the parents were negligently depriving her of needed treatment. But chemo and radation can both be brutal treatments and there is no guarantee they will work. Doctors sometimes recommend treatments that have little chance of success and cause great discomfort to the patient. Its sometimes a difficult decision, but who should make it?

The parents gave birth to this girl. They fed her, clothed her, cared for her when she was sick, comforted her when she was frightened, played games with her and loved her.  Government didn't do any of those things. So who should decide?

In your own case Jake who would you want to make the decision; a government bureaucrat who doesn't know you or your parents?

[David S]

In some cases cancer treatments like chemo and radation are successful and in some cases they are not. One friend of mine was saved from Leukemia by chemo. But another friend in his early 60s was Dxed with lung cancer during a physical. Prior to that he didn't know anything was wrong. The doctors used radation which caused nasty burns on his chest. Then the cancer spread to his brain. The doctor said don't worry we can fix that. Then they put him on chemo and then he was dead. It was about 6 months from Dx to death. In my opinion he would have lived his final months in better health and happiness if he had done nothing. He might even have lived longer.

My mother died of breast cancer. Initially they put her on hormone therapy. That worked well. It kept her alive and in reasonably good health for about 5 years, but eventually the cancer becomes immune to that type of treatment and the doctors resort to chemo. Chemo was much more brutal. One treatment of that and she was dead. Now admittedly she was old and frail at the time. But I think chemo caused enough distress to her system to push her over the edge.

I'm rambling a bit but the point of all that is that chemo and radation are not surefire and they can cause the patient a lot of pain. Its just a race to see what  the treatment kills first, the cancer or you.

This is a very difficult decision to make, and as JJ points out the doctors are not always right. He is also right in saying that the doctors make money by treating you, not necessarily by doing what is best for you.

IMHO the decision for a child should be made by the people who are most concerned for her well being, her parents not some bureaucrat. The parents should be armed with all the facts; probability of survival with and without treatment, treatment options, and quality of life with and without treatment. Then they should be allowed to decide.