To start, I'd just like to say that my "randomly selected argument" makes this extremely difficult: I can understand the teenager's side and could argue it much more efficiently than I can what I'm about to argue, and I don't strictly believe in what I'm about to present. However, let's move on and get this out of the way.
Cassandra C., a teenager diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, has raised a large debate over both ethics and law. Cassandra has chosen to deny treatment (chemo-therapy), and has the full support of her mother on this matter: the two agree that the chemicals would be more harmful to Cassandra's body than beneficial. However, the state of Connecticut views Cassandra as a minor who is incapable or making her own decisions, and views her mother as negligent for refusing to get her daughter treatment.
Because Cassandra is considered a legal minor in the state of Connecticut, the courts told her that she would have to undergo chemo-therapy. The only way Cassandra would be allowed to make her own medical decisions would be through the Mature Minor Doctrine, a document that gives teenagers that are either sixteen or seventeen to prove that they are mature enough to make their own medical conditions. Being that this was the only way to ensure that Cassandra would be able to avoid chemo-therapy treatment, she should have been sure to prove her maturity while the case remained within the trial court. However, she failed to do so, and so Cassandra was forced to accept treatment.
Cassandra's mother also shares brief personal belief with the camera on how she too dislikes the idea of chemicals in her own body or in Cassandra's, and as it is later stated by a talk show host the mother's opinion in bound to reflect on the child's decisions. The mother's supposed credit is also further disproved when it is discovered that she initially refused to accept the fact that Cassandra had cancer, and even more so when she refused to take her daughter to appointments. Without the state's intervention Cassandra could pay the ultimate price for her mother's belief, and disbelief. The treatment of chemo-therapy on Cassandra's type of cancer has a survival rate of 80-85%, meaning that if Cassandra were to undergo treatment she would most likely survive. Without proof that Cassandra can make her own mature decisions, with Cassandra's mother discrediting herself, and with the statistics present to back up the survival chances, the state made the choice to choose for the young one.
P.S.: Don't read if you don't want to know my real opinion
Alright. I don't fully believe half of the stuff that I just said up there ^. Some I do believe: that's why I used as many facts as I could rather than my own opinion on the matter. I agree with the facts: Cassandra's failure to prove her competence basically ruined her chances at choosing her own medical path, and the survival rate would be enough for me to accept the treatment. However, I don't feel that Cassandra's mother should be so harshly received. Parents are known as the supporters of their children; although there are rules and restrictions, parents have their children who rely on them. If the mother shares the same belief as the child, and the child strongly seeks support on a matter, parents often feel inclined to support their child. The "denial" seen in the mother's early reactions are common in parents who receive a shock such as the one she received, which was basically "your daughter is dying". Immediate action would have been ideal, but sometimes our own psychology intervenes. Next, I do not agree with the second video's cast of people (surprise). Previously stated by the mother, Cassandra and her daughter planned on finding some form of treatment that didn't require chemicals. However, the video would have you believe that Cassandra and her mother were simply choosing to let Cassandra die by "holding a gun to her head". In a legal standing I agree with the state in the sense that Cassandra needed to prove herself before being able to make her own decisions: however, I disagree with the overall attitude/presentation of those in the videos who were arguing that Cassandra should be forced to undergo treatment.
