MOTHER WINS RIGHT NOT TO TREAT SON WITH HIV

Officials Say A Three-Drug Cocktail Might Be Her 4-Year-Old's Only Hope,
But She Fears That The Medicine Will Hurt Her Child.

Portland, Maine-A mother can refuse to let her HIV-infected son take
powerful drugs that she believes could kill him rather than help him,
the state Supreme Court decided Thursday.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court unanimously upheld a judge's ruling
that Valerie Emerson's refusal to treat her son with a three-drug
cocktail does not amount to child abuse or neglect. But it left the
door open for change if the 4-year-old boy's condition worsens, if
more data becomes available or new medical treatments are developed.

"Neither the parents nor the state should assume that the trial
court's decision, affirmed by our opinion today, is necessarily the
final word on treatment for Nikolas," Chief Justice Daniel Wathen wrote.

Emerson, who also carries the AIDS-linked virus, passed it on to
Nikolas at birth.

The mother had said she saw her 3-year-old daughter go through an
agonizing death while on the drug AZT, and she did not want Nikolas to
suffer the same way. Emerson has two other children who do not have
the virus, and she, too, has refused to take AZT.

But scientists say the so-called cocktail is more effective than the
AZT treatment used to treat Emerson's daughter.

The latest treatment is credited with reducing AIDS deaths nationwide
by 47 percent last year, said David Winslow, spokesman for the Maine
Department of Human Services.

"We're hopeful his mother can see the efficacy and will agree to
administer the appropriate treatment for her child," Winslow said.
"That's been our goal all along and it hasn't changed."

In September, a judge rejected the department's attempt to seize
custody of the boy, saying the state had not proven Nikolas would not
be harmed by the drug cocktail.

Judge Douglas Clapp said the evidence suggested that the combination
of drugs was still experimental and carried the risk of side effects
while not guaranteeing a positive outcome.

The boy's court-appointed guardian appealed, arguing that Nikolas'
immune system will continue to deteriorate if he doesn't get
treatment. The high court refused to overturn the decision, however.

"Her mind is a lot more at ease now than it was," said J. Hilary
Billings, Emerson's lawyer.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry