SALT LAKE CITY—A federal appeals court has ruled that Utah doctors and child-protection workers did not violate the constitutional rights of Parker Jensen’s parents when they pushed to have the boy undergo chemotherapy.
A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday in Denver that the good-faith actions of state workers were protected under law. An attorney had argued to the panel that Daren and Barbara Jensen have never been allowed to question those whose decisions allegedly violated their parental rights.
Utah sought custody of Parker, then 12, in 2003 after his parents refused chemotherapy treatment for his cancer. The Jensens were then charged with medical neglect and kidnapping, but later settled the case.
Now 19, Parker was never treated and did not die as doctors predicted.
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune,
