Court Supports Hospital Care for Amish Girl – UPDATE

An appeals court has supported the hospital that wants to force an Amish girl to resume chemotherapy after her parents initially decided to stop such treatment, according to the USA Today.

The court ruled that a county judge must reconsider his decision that blocked Akron Children's Hospital's request to give an attorney, who is also a registered nurse, limited guardianship over Sarah Hershberger and the power to make medical decisions on her behalf.

The hospital previously claimed that Sarah will die without immediate chemotherapy treatment for her leukemia.

According to the appeals court ruling issued on Tuesday, the judge failed to take into account whether appointing a guardian would be in Sarah's best interest.

The court also disagreed with the judge's decision that said he could only transfer guardianship if the parents were found unfit to care for the child.

Andy Hershberger, Sarah's father told the USA Today that their family initially agreed to begin two years of treatments but stopped in June because it was making their daughter extremely sick.

Hershberger said that their daughter begged them to stop chemotherapy and they agreed after a great deal of prayer.

From then on, they opted to consult with a wellness center and to treat Sarah using natural medicines.

"We see her every day; we watch her really close. She runs, plays. She crawls up ladders. She's got a lot of energy, more than she had when she was doing chemo, said Andy in a telephone interview.

Andy also said "if it gets to a point that we cannot do anything for her, we will come back" to Akron Children's Hospital.