Monday 1 September 2014

Sad Case Of Ashya

I'm not one to stick up for religion, i swing my slingback cladded foot at it whenever the opportunity arises but it was interesting to see that religion, Jehovah Witnesses especially, was immediately blamed as an excuse in the sad case of Ashya King this weekend.
The parents of the five year old child with a brain tumour were vilified on the television after it was announced that they had removed there son and had left the UK on a  ferry to France.
As Mr and Mrs King are Jehova Witnesses, almost everybody leapt to the conclusion that as JW's do not allow certain medical procedures, they MUST have taken him to prevent the doctors doing whatever they do that their faith disagrees with.
One manhunt later and Ashya turns up on video clip with his father who delivers a stinging attack on the hospital and doctors where his son was being treated and he was taking him to Spain to sell his holiday home to pay for the £100,000 proton beam therapy in the Czech Republic that could save his sons life but was not available on the NHS in Britain and which the doctors had said would make no difference to Ashya's condition.    
The reason he took Ashya was because the hospital had threatened him with an emergency protection order removing the right to remove their child from hospital for continually questioning their methods of 'pelting him with radiation'.
Nothing to do with religion and they were not kidnappers or neglecting their child, they were simply desperate and scared parents doing what they thought was best for their child.
As it stands the parents are in a Spanish prison facing extradition, Ashya is in a Spanish hospital and  a whole legal debate will go on while a critically ill little boy is caught up in the middle not getting the treatment that he needs to deal with his tumour.

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