The Right to live...or not

The news world is a buzz with the story of a 13 year old boy who is in desperate need of life-saving cancer treatment. The boy from Minnesota has Hodgkin's lymphoma received a chemotherapy treatment but stopped when he became violently ill.
To make a long story short here, the boy and his mother fled because the court wanted to make him continue with the treatment. The mother refused, claiming her religion prohibited it. She wanted to use alternative treatments, one of which could include a ritual from her religion.
They eventually returned and are compliant, the boy will receive his treatments to help get rid of the deadly disease.

Why am I tackling this? I listened to the radio this morning as the talkshow hosts argued over this issue and whether is was right for the courts to step in and override the mother's wish to have the boy treated by doctors. Each had the opposing opinion. It got me thinking.
This is complex issue, with no clear answer. I just want to just discuss this as a Christian American.

I am a parent, I love my children. I pray that I'm never faced with this issue in my life. In Jesus' Name, I never will! Amen! But if I were, I would trust the doctors' diagnosis and then get a second opinion. I would listen to their advice, THEN seek the Lord's council. I would then go with His plan.
I believe that the Lord works through people, as I am His ambassador and witness. By that thinking, I believe that He can work through the hands of doctors also. Therefore I would not forbid the treatment of the child.
The mother's idea of her religion is flawed in my opinion, God doesn't want her child to die. Quite the opposite! He came to wipe out the power of sin and death! Thank God, He did on the cross. So, I'm guessing she wasn't following the voice of the Great Physician when she cut and ran. I could be wrong, maybe God wanted her to do this in order for him to heal the boy and have the world witness it. I don't know for sure.

My issue here is more about the role of the court. Should it be the right of government to step in and MAKE the child undergo chemotherapy? Clearly it makes the boy very sick, which I'm sure cuts to the heart of the parents and was a contributing factor in the decision to flee.
Should we agree to let government make the parenting decisions for us? This is the issue I was wrestling with as I listened to callers on the radioshow voice their opinions.

As I stated, this isn't as easy as black and white. Or is it? I said I would tackle this as a Christian AMERICAN. Here's what I mean: Goverment, GET OUT OF OUR CHILDREN'S LIVES! I am the parent of my children, not you. You are public servants, elected by US and beholden to US!
For the court to disregard the woman's wish, according to her religion and force the boy to undergo cancer treatment is a clear violation of the FIRST AMENDMENT OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION!

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Lets look at the text here: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF;" What is happening when government steps in and ignores a religion and imposes its will? Free exercise is prohibited! It is no longer free!

While I don't agree that this woman should run away and let her child die without treatment, she shouldn't be charged with a crime if she is following her religion. Obviously there are serious perversions to this logic as well. What if someone wanted to perform a human sacrifice, using their child? The list could go on and on, and people in their perversion will claim religious freedom when they are faced with prosecution.

I guess the point here is that government is getting way TOO BIG. They want to tell us what to eat, what to drink or not drink, what kind of car to buy, what bank to go to and now they want to tell us how to parent. I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of it. Get out of my child's life, I know what's best for them, not you!

To the right of these blog posts there are some links. I added links to the websites of the US Senate and House of Represenatives. Go there, see what our lawmakers are up to. We as citizens need to know and be informed. Our rights are being stripped away from us slowly and surely. It's like a chess match, they're getting all their pieces in position. Sooner or later, Checkmate!

Make your voice heard, let them know where you stand on the issues. We're called to ACT, not just take. When Jesus gave the Great Commission, He said "GO YE," so we should listen and act.
When election day comes around, VOTE! Make sure that the right people are in the right positions. If they're not, VOTE 'EM OUT!!! Don't let Big Brother turn the United States into the "Nanny State."

About the 13 year old boy and his family, pray for them. Pray for his healing and that through it all, God Almighty is glorified somehow. Pray that they come to repentance and the truth. Pray that they become living witnesses of the Coming King! Amen!