We discussed the case of Daniel Hauser in class today. He's the cancer stricken kid whose mother does not want him to have chemotherapy. She apparently wants him to have a natural cure and is heading to Mexico to get it. Child protective services in Minnesota had taken her to court to force her to allow her son to have the chemo. By not doing so she has been argued to be placing her child in danger.
So the question we considered was whether she was in fact doing so and whether the state was overstepping its bounds.
To make matters more interesting, the family is a member of the Nemenhah religion. This raises the potential question of free exercise violations if the state does not allow her to seek a treatment that is inkeeping with her religious beliefs. Precedence allows the state to intervent if religious practices place children in danger. The greater interest of society in keeping children safe overweighs the parents free exercise rights (sounds like the polygamy case from a year ago). The question is whether that is in fact what is happening here.
A warrant for the mother's arrest has been issued so I expect more on this soon.
