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Accused Parents OK Chemotherapy for Son

Posted on: Saturday, 6 September 2003, 06:00 CDT

The case of a couple accused of kidnapping their cancer-stricken son to avoid chemotherapy reached a measure of resolution when the parents agreed to get treatment for the boy if a new physician recommends it.

The agreement was made official Friday during a juvenile court hearing. The family has been locked in a battle with the state over government authority to override parents in life-and-death decisions involving their children.

Daren and Barbara Jensen were charged with kidnapping for taking their 12-year-old son, Parker, to Idaho to avoid a Utah court order to start chemotherapy Aug. 8.

At Friday's hearing, which was closed to the public, Juvenile Court Judge Robert Yeates dropped the state's custody warrant for Parker and the arrest warrants against the parents for disobeying the chemotherapy order. The kidnapping charges remain, however.

"Given the situation, what else can we do but get Parker the care he needs," Daren Jensen told The Associated Press by telephone from Idaho, where the family sought exile and next week will consult a new doctor agreed upon by Utah state attorneys.

"I've got to get a job. I've got to get our life back in order. We've been through a lot. We basically have to start over," said Jensen, who said he had to leave his job as a software executive because of the case.

Parker Jensen had a tiny tumor removed from the soft palate of his mouth on June 20. Three hospitals said it tested positive for Ewing's sarcoma, an aggressive and deadly cancer. Although Parker appears healthy, doctors say he could die without an immediate, 49-week regimen of chemotherapy.

The family from Sandy, Utah, questioned the initial diagnosis - which was later confirmed by hospitals in St. Louis and Los Angeles - and insisted Parker could just as easily die of chemotherapy. The parents feared the treatment could stunt their son's growth and leave him sterile.

Mollie McDonald, the court-appointed guardian for Parker, said the state would immediately regain custody of him if his parents don't fulfill the agreement.

Jensen, meanwhile, was holding out hope that deputy district attorney Angela Micklos would drop the kidnapping charges, although she made no such commitment outside the state courthouse on Friday.

The Jensens' attorney, Blake Nakamura, had been in intense negotiations with the state for about week to settle the standoff.

Micklos has said plea negotiations on the kidnapping charges would not begin until after the Jensens begin chemotherapy for Parker.

The Jensens are staying with in-laws in Idaho. Daren Jensen was arrested by Idaho authorities, who found the Utah kidnapping warrant after an accident involving a family car.

Barbara and Parker Jensen later fled to Houston, where their plans to seek alternative care were foiled after Utah authorities notified the clinic there of the warrant for Parker's custody.

Daren and Barbara Jensen, who spoke to the court by telephone from Idaho, could be arrested if they come back to Utah. Micklos said she would meet with the couple's attorney Monday to negotiate their surrender.

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