COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- An Ohio appeals court ruled in favor of a hospital continuing chemotherapy for an Amish girl, 10, despite her parents' objections.
The court said Tuesday a juvenile court judge must reconsider a decision blocking Akron Children's Hospital's attempt to give an attorney, who is also a registered nurse, limited guardianship over Sarah Hershberger, whose chemotherapy for leukemia was stopped by her parents.
The girl had head, neck and kidney tumors when her parents agreed to chemotherapy earlier this year, but the side effects prompted her family to turn to natural remedies including herbs and vitamins, instead of chemicals, ABC News reported Wednesday.
"We've seen how sick it makes her," father Andy Hershberger said of the chemotherapy. "Our belief is the natural stuff will do just as much as that stuff, if it's God's will."
Chemotherapy shrank the tumors, but in June Sarah began treatment with natural medicines. Doctors say she could die within a year without chemotherapy.
In July the hospital sought temporary guardianship of the girl. The Medina County, Ohio, judge ruled Sarah's parents had the right to make medical decisions for her, with no evidence they are unfit parents.
