Sunday, October 23rd

When does the State of Michigan have the right to interfere with decisions made by parents concerning the care of their children? This is the question that will be answered in a jury trial on December 6-7 at the County Court. Our son, 10-year-old Jacob Stieler has had two clear PET scans in the past 4 months meaning there is no evidence of cancer in Jacob’s body, yet still the Department of Human Services is being pressured by a large children’s hospital in lower Michigan to force him to undergo 6 more months and several weeks of radiation treatments just because this is the “standard of care” protocol, based on studies that have been done on other children, not Jacob. After going through 2 ½ months of watching Jacob suffer physically and emotionally from his chemo treatments, we were so very grateful to get the results of his PET scan in July which showed no evidence of the cancer which could not be surgically removed in March. Despite all of our efforts to support his body through treatment, he still lost 14 pounds, and looked like a concentration camp victim after those 2 ½ months. Now, after receiving some non-traditional therapies to help him regain his lost weight and build up his immune system, Jacob looks like a normal healthy young boy, and is ever so glad to be finished with chemo. Should Jacob’s cancer return, we, as his parents, will want to be able to choose where to go for treatment, and what kind of treatment we believe will be best for our child. Except in cases where parents are proven to be unfit, abusive, or neglectful, the State has never been given the right to make these choices, and never should be. If we do not retain this right as Jacob’s parents, and the ones who have been given the responsibility by God to care for him, what will keep the State from interfering on any number of choices that we parents make concerning the care of our children, medical or otherwise?

According to Jacob’s doctors, 30% of the children who follow their treatment plan are not alive in five years. Is this because of the damage caused by these very toxic drugs, which can even cause healthy, normal cells to become cancerous? We have not been given answers to these questions. There don’t seem to be any answers. Unbiased studies have not been done. We hope that in December the jury will remember that it is our right as parents to make any difficult medical decisions for Jacob, this beautiful son that we love far more than the State of Michigan ever could.

**Help us keep our rights as parents over our healthy child, Jacob. Let our Michigan Governor Rick Snyder know that you are concerned this case could ruin parents rights to decide for their children’s well-being all over the nation. If they can threaten to take our child, where will they stop?

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, P.O. Box 30013, Lansing, MI 48909

(517)373-3400 Phone

(517)335-6863 Fax

Rick.Snyder@Michigan.gov

Senator Carl Levin, 269 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington D.C. 20510

(202)224-6221

www.levin.senate.gov/contact/

Senator Debbie Stabenow, 133 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington D.C. 20510

(202)224-4822

www.stabenow.senate.gov/?p=contact

State Representative Steven Lindbert, District #109

http://109.housedems.com/contact-me