Another Kid Dying Because His Parents are Superstitious Morons

Daniel Hauser is a 13-year-old Minnesotan with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Doctors say that with chemotherapy and radiation treatments, he has a 90% chance of survival. Without them, he’ll die. But Daniel is refusing those treatments because his parents happen to be religious nuts. They’re members of the Nemenhah church, a quasi-Native American sect that doesn’t believe in medicine. Now the courts are deciding whether to force treatment on Daniel despite his and his parents’ wishes. The obvious reaction here is to say that, yes, Daniel is a child and doesn’t deserve to die at the whim of other idiots. But the Hausers claim that Daniel is capable of making his own medical decisions, as he’s an elder in their church. But there are a few problems with this reasoning. Number one: Fuck you assholes. Number two: This kid was reared in this religion. His belief is not a reasonable choice. And number three: The qualification to be an elder in the Nemenhah church is to be at least 13-years-old. That’s it. Which, in all fairness, makes sense when you consider how low their insane superstition probably lowers their life expectancy. More details here.