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In November 2014, an Ontario court ruled on a case markedly similar to Makayla’s, saying that an Ontario hospital could not force an 11-year-old (whose name was protected by a publication ban) with cancer to undergo mainstream medical treatment, and that it was her mother’s “aboriginal right” to pursue traditional medicine for her daughter. The decision was astounding in that it seemed a virtual death sentence for any critically ill First Nations child whose parents might choose to shun mainstream medicine. The judge offered a “clarification” six-months later — after Makayla’s death, and at which point the 11-year-old at the centre of the case had resumed chemotherapy — saying that the “use [of] traditional medicines must remain consistent with the principle that the best interests of the children remain paramount,” which in many ways leaves the question of justice in these situations as ambiguous as ever.

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The big difference between the cases of Makayla Sault and Ezekiel Stephan was that Makayla was old enough to offer her input on her own medical care, whereas Ezekiel was helpless and totally dependent on his parents to get him the treatment he needed. Nevertheless, it is fair to wonder — and perhaps to believe — that if both children were born at another time, or to different parents, that they wouldn’t be made to suffer preventable deaths: Makayla might not have suffered a stroke at 11 years old; Ezekiel’s lungs might’ve not have filled with pus as his body painfully froze in position.

Arguably, both children died because their parents opted for alternative treatments instead of proven science: that one alternative treatment had “aboriginal” in its name does not make it any more credible. The Canadian justice system is in the process of ensuring that children like Ezekiel — those born to non-aboriginal parents — won’t suffer as he did. It should do the same for children like Makayla.

National Post

Robyn Urback • rurback@nationalpost.com | robynurback