[LINK] "First Nations girl's family rejects chemo, hospital goes to court to force treatment"

[rfmcdonald]

CBC's Connie Walker looks at a sad case in the Hamilton area involving an Iroquois girl. Iroquois ethnicity and claims made on its behalf appear to be incidental to the issue at hand, for whatever it's worth.

A First Nations mother is defending her decision to remove her child from chemotherapy treatment. Her daughter underwent chemo for 10 days at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton before the family decided to discontinue treatment because it conflicts with their beliefs.

In a letter to CBC News, the mother wrote, “I will not have my daughter treated with poison.… She has to become a healthy mother and a grandmother. I have chosen treatment that will not compromise her well-being and quality of life.”

Lawyers from the McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton have gone to court in an attempt to force the Brant Children's Aid Society to intervene and return her to chemotherapy treatment.

In a similar case earlier this year, the Children's Aid Society decided not to intervene when 11-year-old Makayla Sault left chemotherapy treatment at McMaster to pursue traditional indigenous medicine. Her case was never sent to court.

In this case, Judge Gethin Edward has imposed a publication ban on anything that would identify the girl or family involved in the case. The court proceedings resumed today and are are expected to continue tomorrow.