Cancer treatment-who's right? Religious beliefs or court ruling

A Minnesota judge ruled that a 13-year-old cancer patient must be evaluated by a doctor to determine if the boy would benefit from restarting chemotherapy over his parents' objections.
Daniel Hauser has Hodgkin's lymphoma and underwent one treatment before quitting the treatment in February because Daniel and his parents opted instead for "alternative medicines" based on their religious beliefs.
The parents say this is their son's decision to treat the disease with nutritional supplements and other alternative treatments favored by the Nemenhah Band. The Missouri-based religious group believes in natural healing methods advocated by some American Indians, according to an Associated Press story.
The judge in the case will allow the teen to stay with his parents and gave them until Tuesday to get an updated chest X-ray for their son and select an oncologist.
Here's the kicker:
If the evaluation shows the cancer had advanced to a point where chemotherapy and radiation would no longer help, the judge said he would not order the boy to undergo treatment.
However, he said, if chemotherapy is ordered and the family still refuses, Daniel will be placed in temporary custody.
Court documents say Daniel doesn't fully understand how sick he really is. Doctors say he has a 90 percent chance of recovery with chemo and a 5 percent chance without treatments.
This brings some interesting points to review.
* Should the courts be responsible for making decisions regarding cancer or other medical treatments?
* Is the court overstepping the separation of church and state?
* Or should issues such as Daniel's be seen on a case by case base?
So go ahead, let us know what you think.
Mary Meaux

Are you safer not knowing?

I wonder, do people really want to know what crimes happen in their neighborhood/city?
Many of you know I cover the police beat (among other beats) and I've heard different responses to whether crimes should be publicized and how much information should be out there.

Is it better to know a home was burglarized in the such-and-such block of X street or that a suspect entered the garage through an unlocked door and stole a weedeater?
Does the detailed version make the victim, although not identified, a target for another burglary?
Or does the crime make neighbors more aware of what is going on in their area allowing them to watch out for each other?

I've had comments from people who like to read what was stolen i.e. blues jeans from a department store, a bottle of cheap rum from a home. And, from the feedback I receive, people like to read the Port Arthur Police Beat. Some read for entertainment, others read to see what's going on in their neighborhood just to be nosy while others use the information to look out for their neighbors.
Some police departments in the area provide the bare bones. An assault occurred, a vehicle stolen. Others will say a man was assaulted after a disturbance at a club or a 1999 Chevrolet F-150 truck was stolen from a home.
What about neighborhood watch groups? Would they even exist if the crime information was kept to a minimum?

Are you safer not knowing?
By peeping out your blinds and making an anonymous call to the police but not speaking with your neighbor the next day in hopes of preventing future crimes?
(Note: I do not provide details of a sexual assault report. I simply type that a sexual assault was reported. Yes, I may know some of the details. UNLESS the police wish the information to be publicized such as the case of an older woman who was sexually assaulted recently. The police were looking for the suspect and provided the information in a press release. The victim was not identified.)

Here's some things to grind:
* Should the police beat published in the paper/online provide a slightly detailed account or the bare bones?
* If the detailed information is printed does this make the person who is already a victim the target of another crime?
* Does the detailed information make you sit up and take notice of what is really going on in your city/neighborhood?

Mary Meaux