A 13-year-old Minnesota boy with cancer must resume medical treatment to save his life, despite religious and other objections by his family -- unless it already is too late, a Brown County judge ruled Friday.

Judge John Rodenberg said Daniel Hauser must have a chest X-ray by next Tuesday, and ordered lawyers and the family back into his courtroom that day to give him an update on the boy's condition.

"Daniel Hauser is a child in need of protection," Rodenberg wrote, noting that five doctors agreed on the recommended course of treatment. The county, he said, had proved "a compelling state interest in the life and welfare of Daniel sufficient to override the fundamental constitutional rights of both the parents and Daniel to the free exercise of religion and the due process right of the parents to direct the upbringing of their child."

An attorney for the Hausers said Friday that the family will comply for now and has scheduled X-rays for Monday, but is considering an appeal.

"The Hausers believe that the injection of chemotherapy into Danny Hauser amounts to an assault upon his body, and torture when it occurs over a long period of time," said their attorney, Calvin Johnson of Mankato. "They believe that it is against the spiritual law to invade the consciousness of another person without their permission."

County Attorney James Olson, who petitioned for the court's intervention, said the judge's decision "gets things started." But even with the X-ray, he said, doctors may not have a prognosis for Daniel by Tuesday's hearing, and the judge may require more information before issuing a final order on chemotherapy.

Daniel was diagnosed in January with Hodgkin's lymphoma, but the Hausers stopped his chemotherapy and radiation after one treatment and began substituting alternative care, including herbs and vitamins. His doctors notified child protection officials, prompting Olson to file a child neglect petition.