Arrest ordered for mom of boy, 13, resisting chemo
Author: Amy Forliti
May 20, 2009
The mother of a 13-year-old boy who has refused chemotherapy for cancer followed a court order and got his tumor X-rayed this week. The doctor said it had grown and that Daniel Hauser needed to be seen immediately by a specialist.
Instead, Colleen Hauser and her son disappeared; they and a family friend rushed to leave as Dr. James Joyce tried to give them information about Hodgkin's lymphoma. None of them appeared at a court hearing Tuesday on Daniel's welfare.
A warrant was issued for Colleen Hauser's arrest, and Brown County District Judge John Rodenberg ordered that Daniel be placed in foster care and be sent to a doctor for an immediate examination.
"The court's priority at this point is to try to get Daniel Hauser and get him the care he needs," Rodenberg said.
The mother and boy's apparent departure surprised and angered attorneys in the case. And even those who supported the family's decision to refuse chemotherapy for religious reasons are now saying the mother made the wrong decision.
"She should have gone to court," said Philip Cloudpiler Landis, the founder of the Nemenhah group to which the Hausers belong. "It's how we work these things out. You don't solve anything by disregarding the order of the judge."
Anthony Hauser now agrees that Daniel needs to be taken back to a doctor for re-evaluation for the best treatment, said Calvin Johnson, an attorney for the parents. Still, Anthony Hauser testified he last saw his wife on Monday evening, and he has made no attempt to reach his wife or son since then.
"She said she was going to leave," Hauser testified. "She said, `That's all you need to know.' And that's all I know."
Daniel was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in January. The cancer is considered highly curable with chemotherapy and radiation, but Daniel quit chemo after a single treatment. With his parents, he opted instead for "alternative medicines," citing religious beliefs. That led authorities to seek custody. Rodenberg last week ruled that Daniel's parents were medically neglecting their son.
The Hausers are Roman Catholic and also believe in the "do no harm" philosophy of the Nemenhah Band, a Missouri-based religious group that believes in natural healing methods advocated by some American Indians.
Colleen Hauser testified earlier that she had been treating his cancer with herbal supplements, vitamins, ionized water and other natural alternatives.
The warrant for Colleen Hauser's arrest has been distributed nationwide and a crime alert was being issued to businesses around the country, Brown County Sheriff Rich Hoffman said. He said investigators were following some leads, but he declined to elaborate.
Joyce, the family's doctor, testified by telephone that Daniel's tumor has grown and he needs immediate assessment by a specialist.
Joyce said he examined Daniel on Monday, and an X-ray showed that his tumor had grown to the size it was when he was first diagnosed.
"He had basically gotten back all the trouble he had in January," the doctor said.
Daniel said he had pain on the right side of his chest, which he rated a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10, Joyce said. Joyce said the pain was around the port that was inserted into Daniel's chest to administer chemotherapy. He attributed the pain to the growing tumor, which is pushing the port out of place.
He said Daniel was at risk of substantial physical harm if no action is taken.
The woman who accompanied Daniel and his mother to the appointment was Susan Daya, a California attorney, Joyce said. Daya seemed to be the one pressuring Daniel to leave quickly, Joyce said.
"Under Susan Daya's urging, they indicated they had other places to go," Joyce said.
Daya did not immediately return a page left on her cell phone Tuesday by The Associated Press. Her voice mailbox was full. The court also tried to reach her during the hearing, but got no answer.
The court also called Colleen Hauser on her cell phone and there was no answer. Anthony Hauser said his wife left the cell phone at the family's home in Sleepy Eye.
In his ruling last week, Rodenberg wrote that he would not order chemotherapy if Daniel's prognosis was poor. But if the outlook was good, it appeared chemotherapy and possibly radiation would be in the boy's best interest, he wrote.
State statutes require parents to provide necessary medical care for a child, Rodenberg wrote. The statutes say alternative and complementary health care methods aren't enough.
He also wrote that Daniel, who has a learning disability and cannot read, did not understand the risks and benefits of chemotherapy and didn't believe he was ill.
Daniel testified that he believed the chemo would kill him and told the judge in private testimony unsealed later that if anyone tried to force him to take it, "I'd fight it. I'd punch them and I'd kick them."