In another tricky case of informed consent, a 16-year-old Virginia boy has refused to undergo a second round of chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s disease. Starchild Abraham Cherrix says that he prefers to treat it with a herbal remedy four times a day under the guidance of a clinic in Mexico. His parents have been charged with medical neglect and the local government has assumed joint custody. Officials are asking the court to order Abraham to undergo a second round of chemotherapy. The teenager agrees with his parents. “This is my body that I’m supposed to take care of. I should have the right to tell someone what I want to do with this body,” he says. “I studied. I did research. I came to this conclusion that the chemotherapy was not the route I wanted to take.”

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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