Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1998. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - Thursday November 19, 1998
David Sharp, Associated Press Writer
But the court warned that if the boy's condition worsens or new medical treatments are developed, the state could be given the right to demand treatment.
The court unanimously upheld a judge's ruling that Valerie Emerson's decision does not amount to an imminent threat to her boy, Nikolas, as defined by state child abuse law.
Ms. Emerson, who also carries the AIDS virus, passed the virus on to Nikolas at birth.
Her only daughter, Tia, died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1996 just before her fourth birthday despite getting the powerful drug AZT in combination with other drugs. She has two other children who do not have the virus.
A judge rejected the state Department of Human Services' attempt to seize custody of the boy if his mother would not allow treatment, saying the state had not proven Nikolas would not be harmed by a three-drug AIDS cocktail that some say is more effective than AZT. The state did not appeal.
The boy's court-appointed guardian appealed, arguing that Nikolas' immune system will continue to deteriorate if he doesn't get treatment. The boy lives with his mother.
The state Supreme Court decided that the judge appropriately weighed the competing interests of the child, the parents, and the Department of Human Services, along with the benefits and risks of treatment.
"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.
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