Consider it was said in the context of “I’m not sure where I draw my line”, I thought it would be pretty clear that I wasn’t putting them on the same level.
Another thing to consider is that in a time of crisis, both sides are likely not communicating well. When my daughter was ill, they were asking me to sign all kinds of forms for procedures I knew nothing about. I was very thankful that the doctor asking for ‘permission’ to perform a procedure made it seem like I had a choice. He knew I didn’t, but put it that he wanted me to give permission for surgery. I asked if there were any other options (no), I asked if it needed to be done immediately (yes), I signed the forms. A week later my (new) friend had her baby and her husband wasn’t there, and she wanted to wait to give blood transfusions and do a few other very simple tests. She refused. They were ready to have DCF there, there was miscommunication, anger (and remember this mother had just given birth, a little hormonal). They worked it out when everyone calmed down. Mother just wanted to have certain people donate the blood, didn’t understand the procedure, wanted her husband there.
It seems that this mother took a stance and wouldn’t budge, and the daughter was following along. In the Oregon cases, they can’t just decide to end treatment and commit suicide. There is a lot of counseling and evaluation. I don’t know if this girl has any medical people on her side saying she should be allowed to refuse treatment or take an alternate treatment. Time is of the essence here, and the court has to go with the evidence presented. If the mother/daughter presented no evidence, the court had to go with the doctors. In the cases presented by the mother/daughter where other children were allowed to direct their own medical care, all had long histories of dealing with their illnesses; not seeking treatment wasn’t the first option but the last. The only exceptions are those who have religious objections and not even those are always honored.
For the record, while some homeschoolers are somewhat isolated, most are not. In fact, most are highly involved in outside activities (scouts, team sports, music groups, church/synogogue involvement, community theater, jobs in the community, etc).
I don’t know that this 17 year old is fundamentally different from who she will be at 18, but I guess the line has to be drawn somewhere. I have a relative who declined to take the last of her chemo treatments because she couldn’t bear it and was willing to let things ride. She’s got young kids. Of course, we worry for her, but I don’t judge because I have not had to walk in her shoes. If this young lady refuses treatment after her birthday in September, so be it.
“She is a free and autonomous adult if she wants to abort her child, but if she doesn’t want chemo, she is still forced to comply by the state.”
For me the difference is that the girl will die if she doesn’t get treatment for the cancer - an unlikely outcome if she gets an abortion or chooses to have the child.
Forcing a minor to have a child/become a mother is a different issue altogether. That is a totally different argument and both sides have positions on that.
Forcing a minor to “get well” so she can live is another issue. Once she’s an adult, she can take her own life if she wishes…heck, she could do that now if she wanted! (not that I want her to!)
Seriously, if she wants to die, then she can just commit suicide NOW. (again…that would not be what I would want.)
Her statements that she values “quality over quantity” are not really all that applicable in the case of a cancer that has a very high rate of cure. She has a good shot at being able to have both of those things. I hope that the medical staff who are involved with her care now can help put this thing in its proper perspective.
Maybe they could bring in some young people who’ve been through this to tell her about their experiences during and post-chemo, to illustrate why her fears are overwhelming her perception of reality.
I have a couple relatives who refused chemo–but these were people in their 70s who’d already been thru chemo a few years before for the same type of cancer–and in both cases they had very little chance of cure–only to extend their lives (suffering) by a few months. So, perfectly reasonable for them to refuse the 2nd round of chemo.
But with a young person with curable cancer, I think it is OK to force her to take the treatment. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about–getting it all from her mother who is ignorant. (I knew a women, mother of 4 in her early 40s, who believed in these “nutritional” or alternative treatments. . .which of course didn’t work. After wasting months “believing” in an unproven “cure,” finally went to an oncologist who said it was too late, that if she had come in months before, she might’ve had a chance. I have another friend whose son is in his late 20s, battling cancer for the 3rd time. He had chemo/radiation and surgeries before, a few years ago. After a suspicious scan in Nov., she has been giving him some herbal/nutritional junk (imo) that she “believes in.” He is seeing doctor soon–hopefully soon enough to get some treatment with a better chance of helping.
IMO more people should make the decision your relatives made. In the situation you describe, choosing the chemo would almost certainly make their life worse: the chemo wouldn’t work, and meanwhile instead of being able to stay at home, having the best possible last months of their lives, enjoying their families and whatever else they can enjoy, they’re being tortured by the chemo. They would be giving up too much for the small chance of a few more months. Instead of having the few more months now, they would be trying to have the few more months after the chemo-- but probably they wouldn’t get them.
Obviously this reasoning doesn’t apply to the 17-year-old with a very curable cancer. Most likely she has many years of life ahead of her.
It is so sad that this girl is being failed by her mother. I hope that while undergoing treatment she will form relationships with other people (patients, survivors, nurses, doctors, social workers) who can support and influence her. She will need good medical care long after she turns 18.
According to this op-ed written by the teen (from the 1/8/15 Hartford Courant) she is from Windsor Locks, not West Hartford.
http://www.courant.com/opinion/op-ed/hc-op-cassandra-my-body-my-life-0109-20150108-story.html