A five-year-old with a brain tumour has sparked an ethical debate. While doctors were pursuing a certain course of treatment, the boy's parents insisted he try out a new treatment they learned about on the Internet. Both parties want what's best for the boy; both disagree about what "best" actually comprises.
At an impasse, the boy's parents pulled him out of Southhampton General Hospital and travelled to Spain where they were arrested and now face extradition back to England. Meanwhile, poor little Ashya King is caught in the crossfire between his parents and the authorities who feel his mom and dad are putting him at risk.
Though the hospital claims its conventional treatment offers a high success rate, the Kings opted for a costly proton beam radiation therapy instead. Although proton beam therapy is available to patients with certain types of cancer in the UK, it is not typically available to children. It is in the U.S., Switzerland and Japan, though.
Lines of communication between the family and the medical team caring for Ashya ultimately broke down. Instead of sending in a mediator, the Kings fled the country and were ultimately "loaded into a Spanish squad car in handcuffs" and charged with 'cruelty to a person under the age of 16 years.'
Brett King claimed he and his wife were driven to take radical action because had they openly expressed dissent at their son's treatment, doctors would have obtained a protection order, "which meant in his deepest, darkest hour I wouldn’t be there to look after him, neither would my wife.”
“They would prevent us from entering the ward," said King. "So under such a cruel system, I decided to start looking at the proton beam myself.”
Really, can you blame their desperation? It's hard enough watching a loved one suffer, let alone knowing they may not be getting the best treatment available, especially in cases that are literally a matter of life and death. Criminalizing the parents in this case serves no one, certainly not the sick little boy. In their shoes, I'd like to think I would be reasonable, but if that failed, my crazed mama bear instinct would kick in and I'd be on the first plane out, too.
What do you think: do parents always know best, even when it comes to medical intervention?
Were the police too heavy-handed in arresting this mom for her behaviour?
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