"How can you really force a 16-year-old to take a tough treatment that he does not want?"

Medical ethicist Arthur Caplan strongly approves of the new Virginia state court decision that allows 16-year-old Starchild Abraham Cherrix to refuse to submit to chemotherapy. A previous round of chemotherapy for his Hodgkin’s disease had many harsh side effects, making him -- and his parents -- prefer "an alternative treatment method that they learned of in a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico [using] a brew of herbs including licorice and red clover [and] spiritual prayers." But Caplan also approves of the decision by the state to intervene and charge the parents with neglect. What Caplan likes is the compromise:

The answer is to find a doctor who believes in standard medical therapy, who has a good rapport with the boy and his family and is open to working with them to allow them to pursue their ideas about healing, in conjunction with standard medical treatment for cancer.

That is exactly what happened today in the courtroom. Judge Glen Tyler announced that the state and the family had reached an agreement to let Abraham be treated by an oncologist who will work with them and be as flexible as possible about Abraham’s care. The regimen won't include chemotherapy, but might involve radiation.

If the state had not intervened, the boy would have continued on herb tea and prayers, on to nearly certain death. Meanwhile, the boy is able to feel that he's won:

"I'm very happy about today. I'm very happy about this outcome. We won. We got our freedom back."