Court Orders Teen to Undergo Chemotherapy Treatment Despite Parents' Protests

This is a partial transcript from "Hannity & Colmes," July 24, 2006, that has been edited for clarity.

SEAN HANNITY, CO-HOST: A few weeks ago we introduced you to 16-year-old cancer patient Abraham Cherrix. Now after a painful and debilitating round of chemotherapy, Abraham and his parents decided to pursue alternative medicine.

But just last Friday, a judge ruled that Abraham must go to a Virginia hospital for treatment and declared his parents neglectful for allowing their son to pursue therapy that included an organic diet, herbal supplements, all supervised by a clinic in Mexico.

Now, Abraham will have to report to this children's hospital tomorrow afternoon to receive his court-ordered treatment, barring a last-minute action by a different judge tomorrow morning.

Abraham Cherrix joins us now in this exclusive interview since the decision to compel treatment. Also joining us, his father, Jay Cherrix, and their lawyer, John Stepanovich.

Welcome, all of you, to the program.

Abraham, first of all, you went through chemo. It didn't work. It nearly killed you. You wanted an alternative and you found one. Correct?

ABRAHAM CHERRIX, CANCER PATIENT: That's right.

HANNITY: First of all, I know I speak for this audience. We want you to get well at the end of all this and you shouldn't be having to be fighting this in court.

A judge is compelling you to go to a hospital and receive therapy that you don't want to receive, chemotherapy tomorrow. Have you decided what you're going to do?

A. CHERRIX: Yes, I have. I'm not going to receive chemotherapy, no matter what. This is my body, the body that God gave to me and in the Bible it says for me to take care of this body. It's my temple.

And I believe strongly that I have the right to take and do with my body as I please to do with it, because if you don't — are not able to do with your body what you want to, then you have no rights whatsoever.

HANNITY: I guess I'll ask your father and your attorney. I mean, are we headed for a showdown tomorrow where, when Abraham doesn't show up, Jay or John, he doesn't show up, that they're going to strap him on a gurney and force chemotherapy into his body? Is that what's going to happen?

JAY CHERRIX, FATHER: I can't believe that, in the country that we live in, all the freedoms that we fought for, that there would be somebody in this country who would do that to this young man who's made his decision and doesn't want it.

HANNITY: But Jay, you may lose your son as a result of this. You may be — you may be held in contempt of court. Both of you may end up in jail as a result of this. Have they told you the consequences would be about your decision tomorrow?

J. CHERRIX: Well, the decision is for me and his mother to present him. And I suppose that if — if we don't sign the waivers which they want us to sign, then we'll be held in contempt, and I suppose that that's a small price to pay for freedom.

If they want to incarcerate me because of the belief that we have that this is the best policy, this is the best direction we can go, to find a cure for this child that we really love, then that's a price I'm willing to pay.

ALAN COLMES, CO-HOST: Hey, Jay, John, Abraham, it's Alan. Thank you very much for coming back on the show.

John, what legal options are there at this point?

JOHN STEPANOVICH, LAWYER: Well, we have already filed a motion to stay the decision with the same judge that issued his order on Friday. We didn't anticipate that he would reverse himself, and he did not. Today he denied our motion.

But we also filed a motion to stay with the Circuit Court and, thankfully, we have a hearing on that tomorrow at noon. We've also filed a writ of prohibition with the Court of Appeals. That remains an option, and ultimately we have an option to the Supreme Court of Virginia.

COLMES: Can you help our audience, Abraham, understand what you — you've gone through this. You've done, as Sean pointed out, chemo before. Can you help us, help the audience understand what it is you experienced that makes you not want to do this again?

A. CHERRIX: When I first started taking chemotherapy, the only way I can describe it is, it was worse than dying itself. It was more like torture.

I remember that, when I received the first chemotherapy treatment, that that night I was nauseous. I had a stomachache. I had a headache. I couldn't move without getting nauseous again and again and again. I got up several times to go into the bathroom to throw up. And during that time all I wanted to do was lay on the floor because it was so cold.

I just remember that it was the most horrible thing that I think I've ever gone through in my life, and I would gladly have welcomed dying right then and there.

COLMES: Jay, what's really amazing here is that a child is not allowed — well he's not really a child -- but at a certain age you're not allowed to make this decision, but an adult could make this decision without a court getting involved. But you are the parent, and you're all agreeing on this so one could say you are the adult here.

J. CHERRIX: Well, in a family environment, you all — everyone has an equal voice. And you have to — you have to agonize with a decision like this, because it is life and death.

And this wasn't a decision that we came to lightly. We've been down a long, dark, dusty road. And at the end there's a light, and we're trying to reach that light to make Abraham better. And we come to that decision as a family, and we have that right.

Every single family in America has the right to reach the decision on their own, and each and every family is at risk if this person is not allowed to do that.

HANNITY: Guys, we're going to follow this story very, very closely, because I can't believe that they're going to do this to you, Abraham, and force you to do this. But we'll monitor it. I think you have the right to make that decision with your parents. And I think this is outrageous. We wish you the best and we wish you the best of health. We appreciate you being with us.

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