Virginia v. Cherrix is a 2006 court case in which the

Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United Stat ...

sued to force Starchild Abraham ("Wolf") Cherrix (born June 1990), aged 16 at the time of the court case, to undergo further conventional medical treatment for a highly treatable form of cancer,

Hodgkin disease Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition wa ...

. Cherrix was diagnosed with the blood cancer and underwent an initial round of

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

in 2005. When he was told in early 2006 that he needed further treatment, he rejected any further use of chemotherapy or radiation because of the side effects. His parents supported his choice, and were accused by the state of medical neglect of their child. The lower court decided against the parents, but the decision was overturned on appeal and the parties reached a compromise in a consent decree, in which Cherrix would receive treatment from a board-certified specialist of Cherrix's choice. The case resulted in a new law, dubbed Abraham's Law, that increased the rights of patients aged 14 to 17 in Virginia to refuse medical treatment. Cherrix reached the

age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contr ...

in June 2008, and has been free to pursue or reject treatment without legal oversight since then, like any other adult. , Cherrix was alive, had decided to pursue

evidence-based medicine Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients". The aim of EBM is to integrate the experience of the clinician, the values of t ...

rather than alternative medicine products, and had achieved a remission after receiving high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant.

Court case

When Cherrix and his parents refused a second round of chemotherapy, the Accomack County Department of Social Services accused his parents of medical neglect of a child in 2006. The juvenile court found the parents guilty of

medical neglect In the context of caregiving, neglect is a form of abuse where the perpetrator, who is responsible for caring for someone who is unable to care for themselves, fails to do so. It can be a result of carelessness, indifference, or unwillingness and ...

and ordered Cherrix back into conventional treatment. An appeal to the circuit court reversed the decision and resulted in a consent decree in August 2006 that permitted Cherrix to receive treatment from a board-certified oncologist, Arnold Smith of Mississippi, who is interested in

alternative cancer treatment Alternative cancer treatment describes any cancer treatment or practice that is not part of the conventional standard of cancer care. These include special diets and exercises, chemicals, herbs, devices, and manual procedures. Most alternative ...

Cherrix's treatment

Cherrix was diagnosed with

Hodgkin's disease Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition wa ...

in 2005 and underwent three months of

, a standard medical treatment with significant side effects. Hodgkin's disease is a highly treatable, even curable, type of

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

; 96% of young patients survive at least five years after conventional treatment. He said later that the side effects were so severe that he had wished he were dead during treatment. In 2006, when the cancer returned, he rejected further conventional treatment and went to Mexico to receive

Hoxsey Therapy Hoxsey Therapy or Hoxsey Method is an alternative medicine, alternative medical treatment promoted as a cure for cancer. The treatment consists of a caustic herbal paste for external cancers or an herbal mixture for "internal" cancers, combined wit ...

(an herbal concoction based on the plants eaten by a horse with a cancerous growth in the 19th century), which has been illegal in the United States since 1960 after it was proven to be ineffective. His parents were charged with medical neglect as a result of this decision. After the circuit court overturned the conviction of his parents in August 2006, Cherrix's treatment was supervised by Arnold Smith of Mississippi, a

radiation oncologist A radiation oncologist is a specialist physician who uses ionizing radiation (such as megavoltage X-rays or radionuclides) in the treatment of cancer. Radiation oncology is one of the three primary specialties, the other two being surgical and m ...

with an interest in alternative cancer therapies. His treatment under Smith included low-dose

radiation therapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...

as well as a sugar-free, wheat free,

organic food Organic food, ecological food or biological food are food and drinks produced by methods complying with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological ...

diet, and various vitamins, aimed at increasing his immune system's activity. Cherrix has cycled in and out of apparent remission under this treatment plan, with the need for a fifth round of treatments at the end of 2009. In June 2008, Cherrix celebrated his 18th birthday and the completion of the requirement to report his medical condition to the courts.

Resulting law

As a result of Cherrix case the

Virginia legislature The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 1619 ...

enacted "Abraham's Law", which amended § 63.2-100 of the Code of Virginia to permit parents to refuse medical treatment or to choose alternative treatments for adolescents aged 14 to 17 with a life-threatening medical condition, if the teenager seems to be mature, both the parents and the child have considered the treatment options available to them, and all agree that their choice is in the teen's best interest.

Similar cases

In May 2009, a judge in the state of Minnesota ruled that Daniel Hauser, age 13, has been "medically neglected" as a result of his parents' refusal to allow him to receive chemotherapy for

Hodgkin's lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition wa ...

, the same disease at issue in ''Virginia v. Cherrix''. The likelihood of a cure with treatment is 85–90%; without treatment, patients die. Unlike Cherrix's case, Hauser was determined to have a "rudimentary understanding at best" of his condition. After one chemotherapy treatment, the family refused to continue. The mother and her son fled the state, and a Minnesota district judge issued a felony arrest warrant. Daniel was distressed by the side effects of chemotherapy, and his mother told the court that she preferred natural healing and they would both resist court orders to provide it. They returned from California five days later, and Daniel underwent conventional treatment, which appears to have cured his cancer.Danny Hauser finishes his cancer treatment
November 06, 2009

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cherrix, Starchild Abraham 2006 in American law Medical ethics