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Case Study
Latest
Parker Jensen Family, of Utah
“We didn’t know that when we took our child to the hospital that we would lose our right to decide what is best for our child.”
“A Utah father charged with kidnapping his own son said Sunday that authorities were trying to force chemotherapy on the boy for a cancer that was unconfirmed.” (AP Aug. 31, 2003.)
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“They’re trying to kill me with chemicals”
— Parker Jensen
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Parker Jensen bounces on a trampoline with his cousin Tara Anderson in Pocatello on Sunday.
Kira Horvath, Deseret Morning News
Sept. 2, 2003
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SIGN PETITION
Editorial > Chemotherapy Not Necessarily Best Choice and Must not be Mandated by State
Constitutional Specialist, Joel Skousen, Comments on Parker Jensen Case
UTAH
Daren, Parker and Barbara Jensen enjoy the holiday
Monday at Barbara Jensen’s parents’ house in
Pocatello, Idaho.
(Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune
Front Page Sept. 2, 2003) |
12-year-old Parker Jensen was diagnosed with terminal cancer in April 2003. The Jensens do not want to use the recommended chemotherapy to treat the illness. They have took their child from the hospital and fled from the State’s control. The state of Utah, through their Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) then charged the parents with kidnapping. The mother, Barbara, was in hiding with Parker; and the father, Daren Jensen, after posting $50,000 bail, is working through legal and political channels. The agreement as of Sept. 2 is that Parker will be evaluated by an Oncologist of the Jensen’s choice. If the diagnosis is confirmed, Parker must begin chemotherapy immediately. The state will get legal custody of Parker, but the Jensen’s will maintain physical custody. And the Jensen’s must surrender Parker’s passport.
Jensens Have Been Studious in Researching Their Son’s Diagnosis
Jensen’s friends and family plead their case
General News Retarding Parker Jensen Case
- Jensens prompt legislation
SALT LAKE CITY — A Davis County legislator plans to run a bill next session to exempt “competent parents” from state interference in medical treatment decisions for their children. (Standard.Net)
Chronological News Articles — Parker Jensen Case
- Google News Search > “Parker Jensen” – latest international news database.
- July 19, 2005
- Parker’s parents sue state, hospital – Jensens: The prosecutors, doctors and DCFS violated the constitutional rights of the family, the suit says. (Salt Lake Tribune; July 19, 2005)
- Feb. 14, 2004
- ‘Parker’ bill could alter role of parents – A bill passed by the state Senate this week would give Utah parents more power in making medical decisions about their children — more power, in fact, than possessed by parents anywhere else in the country. (SL Tribune)
- Oct. 25, 2003
- Oct. 18, 2003
- Oct. 17, 2003
- Oct. 3, 2003
- No jail time for Jensens – prosecutors dropped felony kidnapping charges against the parents of Parker Jensen in exchange for guilty pleas to custodial interference, a lesser crime. (Salt Lake Tribune)
- State needs to redefine its stand on Parker – What’s next: State finds itself in a tight spot after backing down from its strict stand on the 12-year-old’s treatment (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Sept. 30, 2003
- Sept. 28, 2003
- Sept. 27, 2003
- Sept. 26, 2003
- Sept. 25, 2003
- Sept. 16, 2003
- Sept. 7, 2003
- Sept. 6, 2003
- Sept. 3, 2003
- Fugitive family negotiating boy’s medical treatment (Wyoming News, WY)
- Judge holds hearing in Jensen case; settlement still pending (Wyoming News, WY)
- Jensens’ deadline looms – Parents, Utah officials try to iron out dispute (Deseret News, UT)
- Jensens, state are closing in on a deal (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Negotiotiations Continue Over Child’s Medical Treatment (KSL-TV, UT)
- Legislators getting an earful over case – No matter how the legal minutiae are disentangled in the next few days, the Jensen case is already creating legislative ripples. [includes two polls] (Deseret News, UT)
- Jensen timeline (Deseret News, UT)
- A child’s right (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Resolve issue by getting boy a new exam (St. George Daily Spectrum, UT)
- Treating Kids (Reason Online)
- Sept. 2, 2003
- Sept. 1, 2003
- Aug. 31, 2003
- Father defends keeping son out of Utah to avoid cancer treatment – WAFF, AL • KTVO, MO • (same AP story posted at:) KESQ, CA • WISH, IN • KSFY, SD • WCAX, VT • WHO-TV, IA • KFVS, MO • KPOM-TV, AR • WLOX, MS • KPLC-TV, LA • WKBN, OH • WHNS • WMC-TV, TN • WKYT, KY • WHAG-TV, MD • WOOD-TV, MI • WLUC-TV, MI • KRNV, NV • WSTM-TV, NY • WRIC TV, VA • WALB-TV, GA • KCAU, IA • KAMC, TX • WTVO, IL • WAVY-TV, VA • KRON4.com, CA • WOI, IA • WQAD, IL • KFOR-TV, OK • KVIA, TX • WANE, IN • WHBF, IL • KWWL, IA • WBAY, WI • WTVM, GA • KAIT, AR
- Fugitive Father Defends Medical Standoff
– Tuscaloosa News, AL • ABC News • (same AP story also carried in) Wilmington Morning Star, NC • Guardian, UK • Macon Telegraph, GA • Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, GA • Wilkes Barre Weekender, PA • Grand Forks Herald, ND • Rocky Mount Telegram, NC • Fort Worth Star Telegram, TX • Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN • Aberdeen American News, SD • Belleville News-Democrat, IL • Times Daily, AL • Centre Daily Times, PA • Wichita Eagle, KS • Kansas City Star, MO •Fort Wayne News Sentinel, IN • Duluth News Tribune, MN • Akron Beacon Journal, OH • The Ledger, Florida • Biloxi Sun Herald, MS • Wyoming News, WY |
Daren, left, and Barbara Jensen, center, share a laugh with their son, Parker, during a news conference Sunday, Aug. 31, 2003, in Pocatello, Idaho. Daren Jensen, charged with kidnapping Parker, said Sunday that authorities were trying to force chemotherapy on the boy for an unconfirmed cancer. (AP Photo/The Idaho State Journal, Joshua Duplechian)
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- Jensen Family Speaks Out About Kidnapping Charges and Cancer (KSL-TV, UT)
- Dad says family didn’t flee Utah (Deseret News, UT)
- A child’s life in the balance (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Treatment decision for Parker Jensen was premature (Deseret News)
- Ewing’s is an especially virulent cancer (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Mullen: Jensen case unfairly stigmatizes child-protection agencies (Salt Lake Tribune)
- Parker Jensen Reunites With Father In Idaho (KBCI, ID)
- Aug. 30, 2003
- Aug. 29, 2003
- Aug. 28, 2003
- Aug. 27, 2003
- Aug. 26, 2003
- Aug. 23, 2003
- Aug. 22, 2003
- Aug. 21, 2003
- Aug. 20, 2003
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