Freedom to Rear Your Children
" The case of 12-year-old Parker Jensen from Utah raises this issue once again. Three months ago, Parker was treated for Ewing's sarcoma, a soft tissue cancer that was excised from beneath his tongue. The boy's physicians argue that he needs standard chemotherapy in order to eradicate any microscopic tumors that may have escaped their knives. The doctors believe that without treatment, he has only a 20 percent chance of surviving his cancer, whereas with treatment, he's got a 70 percent chance of survival. However, Parker's parents, Daren and Barbara Jensen, apparently told his doctors that they would not consent to chemotherapy. They pointed out that chemotherapy is not benign since it could stunt Parker's growth and leave him sterile.
Alarmed by what they believed to be the parent's irresponsibility, Parker's doctors contacted Utah's Division of Child and Family Services who took the Jensens to juvenile court. A Utah state statute gives DCFS and prosecutors the authority to intervene in cases where parents refuse to provide possibly life-saving medical treatment to their child. After the court ordered that the boy be put in state custody and treated, the Jensen family fled Utah, saying that they are seeking a second opinion about the need for chemotherapy. Daren Jensen has been found in Idaho and is fighting extradition. The whereabouts of the rest of his family is unknown."