Parents Who Refused Cancer Treatment For Son Should Lose Custody, Nebraska Supreme Court Rules

From the Omaha World-Herald:

Physicians at Children’s Hospital in Omaha had informed the parents that the child had a 60% chance of “relapse-free, long-term survival” from alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma with the recommended course of treatment: 66 weeks of chemotherapy, as well as radiation treatments and possible surgery.

During a four-day trial in Lancaster County Juvenile Court, there was no evidence presented that the parents had sought a second medical opinion, nor that Prince had received any treatments from Oct. 2 to 26, 2019. Neither parent raised a religious or cultural objection to the treatments.

The court ruled that the child lacked proper parental care by reason of the “fault or habits” of both parents.

The Supreme Court, in upholding the lower court’s decision, cited previous rulings that “proper parental care” included providing for the “health, morals, and well-being” of a child, and not placing them “in situations dangerous to life or limb ...”

Read more here.