CT Supreme Court Decision: Teen can't refuse Chemo

Nurses Activism

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FORCING a patient??? Seventeen isnt a child, and as a cancer patient this girl has to face multiple decisions already. THIS is so wrong...the state dictating. This is only a slippery slope folks.

Next thing will be the state enforcing everyone over 80 drinking the red kool aid as it is their best interest. UGH!!!

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Specializes in Family Practice, Mental Health.
How is it "not the same at all"?

The fatality rate of jumping off the Golden Gate bridge is roughly 98%.

The fatality rate of alternative treatment for the disease that the 17 year old female patient is certainly not 99 to 100%.

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How is it "not the same at all"?
El, you are educated and literate, this is not the same AT ALL. One is a deliberate act of seeking death, the other is not
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The fatality rate of jumping off the Golden Gate bridge is roughly 98%.

The fatality rate of alternative treatment for the disease that the 17 year old female patient is certainly not 99 to 100%.

The article posted by the OP reports that the physicians treating the teen reports that, without treatment, she faces a "near certainty of death within two years."

Weinshel and Peterson report in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians that the mortality rate for untreated Hodgkin's is 95% within five years. I guess you could make the argument that that is so much less than a 98% fatality rate that it's not a fair comparison ...

Hodgkin's disease - Weinshel - 2008 - CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians - Wiley Online Library

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El, you are educated and literate, this is not the same AT ALL. One is a deliberate act of seeking death, the other is not

How is refusing treatment for an eminently treatable disease that, left untreated, is pretty much guaranteed to kill you not a "deliberate act of seeking death"?

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How is refusing treatment for an eminently treatable disease that, left untreated, is pretty much guaranteed to kill you not a "deliberate act of seeking death"?

Because it ISN'T.

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Specializes in Family Practice, Mental Health.
The article posted by the OP reports that the physicians treating the teen reports that, without treatment, she faces a "near certainty of death within two years."

Weinshel and Peterson report in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians that the mortality rate for untreated Hodgkin's is 95% within five years. I guess you could make the argument that that is so much less than a 98% fatality rate that it's not a fair comparison ...

Hodgkin's disease - Weinshel - 2008 - CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians - Wiley Online Library

But she is wanting treatment. Just not the treatment that the Drs are demanding her to take.

I see my nursing duties differently than you do My idea of being a Patient Advocate is clearly different than yours.

When did nurses start becoming so judgmental about what is best for the patient?

Would you like to sit before a judge and jury should the patient die and explain why you felt justified to go against nursing ethics?

I sure as fiddlesticks wouldn't.

Nurses are obligated by the Code of Ethics to provide fair and equal treatment that respects the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of the health problem” (ANA, 2001, p. 7).

......or the nature of the health problem.

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But she is wanting treatment. Just not the treatment that the Drs are demanding her to take.

I see my nursing duties differently than you do My idea of being a Patient Advocate is clearly different than yours.

When did nurses start becoming so judgmental about what is best for the patient?

Would you like to sit before a judge and jury should the patient die and explain why you felt justified to go against nursing ethics?

I sure as fiddlesticks wouldn't.

Nurses are obligated by the Code of Ethics to provide fair and equal treatment that respects the inherent dignity, worth, and uniqueness of every individual, unrestricted by considerations of social or economic status, personal attributes, or the nature of the health problem” (ANA, 2001, p. 7).

......or the nature of the health problem.

I'm not arguing that she should be forced to receive treatment (in fact, I stated earlier that, once she is an adult, I believe firmly that it is her choice to make, barring any mental incapacity). I am only taking issue with the notion that declining treatment known to be seriously effective (in favor of what treatment??? Herbs? Vitamins? Macrobiotics? I don't see anything in the OP's article about what treatment the girl and mother are wanting to pursue, just that they don't want the chemo) in treating a pretty-much-guaranteed-to-be-fatal disease is somehow significantly different from attempting suicide.

I also fail to see how you arrived at any conclusion about how I see my "nursing duties" and my role as a patient advocate.

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Specializes in Family Practice, Mental Health.

My patient advocacy role leans towards not forcing care on someone who will be considered an adult in about six months time.

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Specializes in L&D, Women's Health.

This case would be perfect to present to an ethics board but, unfortunately, it didn't make it to one. Instead, the healthcare providers were mandated to report the mother's noncompliance in delivery of life-saving care to CPS. As I understand, the pt's maturity was found lacking which was the basis for initiating the mandatory care. With ANA updating their code of ethics and designating 2015 as the Year of Ethics”, what a way to kick off the year, huh?

As it did not make it to an ethics board, I did research what several bioethics professionals concluded re this case, one being Arthur Caplan. Interesting reads.

Bioethicist: Why Connecticut Teen Can't Say No to Chemo - NBC News

Cassandra C: Right to refuse treatment or protecting a minor* | Bioethics.net

https://thebioethicsprogram.wordpress.com/2015/01/16/the-case-of-cassandra-c-finding-clarity-and-responsibility-as-a-mom-and-a-bioethicist/

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