VIRUSMYTH HOMEPAGE

THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE: DRUGS
Mother's AIDS Treatment Refusal Costs Her Her Children

By Nicholas Regush

ABCNews.com 9 Feb. 2000

This is the saga of single mother "Jane Doe" and her two children, "A" and "B." In Montreal today, Doe will hide behind a curtain at a press conference because Canadian law wants her to shield her identity so that A and B can be "protected."

Here are the salient facts of this intriguing case that speaks volumes about law and medicine: Doe tested positive on the HIV antibody test about 14 years ago, still is HIV-positive, and remains healthy without medical treatment. A and B, who also tested HIV-positive, were taken away from her recently when she refused to allow them to be treated with the standard combination of anti-HIV drugs.

A Virginia group, the International Coalition for Medical Justice, which takes on this type of case, has helped Doe in her battle to live with her children in a manner of her own choosing. Doe considers AIDS drugs to be poorly tested, highly toxic and lacking appropriate scientific evidence that they can fight off AIDS effectively. (A growing number of scientists concur with this assessment of anti-HIV combination drug therapy because of viral resistance and the side effect profile.)

The court decision last month was peculiar, to say the least. It ruled that Doe's refusal of drug therapy for her children did not make her an unfit mother. In fact, it was deemed not objectionable for parents to hold dissenting opinion on matters of HIV treatment.

The judge, however, didn't order the return of A and B to Doe, arguing that her desire to treat them with natural remedies, rather than Western medicine, was wrong. (Excuse me, but did I read this incorrectly? Alternative remedies users, please take note.)

The Correct Decision?

The court decision boiled down to this: Doe retained "legal" custody of A and B, but the children were handed over to their grandparents. Meanwhile, the office of youth "protection" was given the right to make medical decisions for A and B.

That means they were given combination anti-HIV drugs. By the way, these are drugs that have never been established as safe and effective in children. For that matter, this can be similarly argued in regard to adult use.

Was the judge smoking some illegal substance when he thought this case through?

The saga gets murkier and more distasteful. A, who was healthy before being given the drugs, was hospitalized with kidney problems. Are these drug-related? There is a good chance they are because kidney problems are not typical signposts of infections that are associated with AIDS.

B, also healthy prior to drug treatments, began vomiting, has become lethargic and has been having bouts of diarrhea.

Are the drugs causing this?

Looking for Answers

At the very least, Doe and the medical justice coalition want answers and they want the medical records for these children. Doctors now treating A as an outpatient claim the kidney problem is viral in origin. And this is in the face of evidence that A's kidney disorder is an expected side effect of anti-HIV drugs.

So far, the mother and her local attorneys can't obtain the medical records for A. The next phase of this saga may be a court battle for those records.

At today's press conference, Doe will ask that the drug treatment for her children be discontinued. She fears the drugs will destroy them. The doctors, of course, consider these drugs to be lifesavers.

I do not consider there to be even one adequate and properly controlled, completed study that can support the current combination drug agenda. Not one. But there is a ton of evidence that these drugs are highly toxic. What the doctors are doing to A and B in Montreal is nothing less than guinea-pig medicine. It is shameful.

Since AIDS science does not appear willing to deal with any of this in a rational manner, look to many more court cases in North America and a widening of public awareness of the issues involved. Many cases are ready for liftoff as more parents decide they will not medicate their children with these drugs.

Nicholas Regush produces medical features for ABCNEWS. In his weekly column, published Wednesdays, he looks at medical trouble spots, heralds innovative achievements and analyzes health trends that may greatly influence our lives. His latest book is The Breaking Point: Understanding Your Potential for Violence; go here to preview his new book, The Virus Within: A Coming Epidemic.

VIRUSMYTH HOMEPAGE