The move filed in court Friday will likely bring an end to a month's-long fight between Sarah Hershberger's family and a hospital that began when her parents decided to halt the treatments because they were making the girl sick.
The guardian, an attorney who's also a registered nurse, was given the power to make medical decisions for Sarah after an appeals court ruling in October said the beliefs and convictions of the girl's parents can't outweigh the rights of the state to protect the child.
But the guardian, Maria Schimer, decided to drop the effort because she doesn't know where Sarah is now and it has become impossible to monitor her health or make any medical decisions, said Clair Dickinson, an attorney for Schimer.
'It didn't make sense to drag this on any longer,' he said.
Comment: Read more about the disturbing court battle regarding forced medical treatment, parents rights and the protection of an ill child:
Family flees US to evade State-Enforced Chemotherapy on their 10 year old child
Amish girl and parents flee United States to avoid court-mandated chemotherapy
Doctors at Akron Children's Hospital believe Sarah's leukemia is treatable, but say she will die within a year if she halts chemotherapy. The hospital went to court after the family decided to stop chemotherapy and treat Sarah with natural medicines, such as herbs and vitamins.
Sarah's father said the family doesn't oppose modern medicine and that they didn't make their decision based on religious reasons.
They end chemotherapy, he said, because it was taking too great of a toll on their daughter and she feared the treatments would make her infertile.
Sarah and her parents left their home in rural northeast Ohio just days before the state appeals court allowed the guardian to take over medical decisions.
The family left the country in late September before returning to an undisclosed location outside Ohio.
Schimer's attempts to meet with the family were rebuffed, Dickinson said.
The guardian's decision to withdraw from the case still needs final approval from a county court.
'The judge's approval of this resignation will pave the way for the family's return home, which will allow Sarah to receive the family's preferred treatment under the best possible conditions,' said Maurice Thompson, an attorney for the Hershbergers.
Sarah's last known chemotherapy session was in June, but she has undergone alternative-therapy treatments and is doing well, her family has said.
Her grandfather, Issac Keim, told the Akron Beacon Journal that his granddaughter Sarah recently celebrated her 11th birthday and seems vibrant and healthy.
According to Mr Keim, blood and imaging tests indicated that Sarah's cancer is gone.
Thompson, who leads the libertarian 1851 Center for Constitutional Law in Ohio, said the case came down to fundamental principles and constitutional rights.
'We made it clear to our opponents that they were in for a protracted battle,' he said.
Andy Hershberger, the Ohio girl's father, said this past summer that the family agreed to begin two years of treatments for Sarah last spring but stopped a second round of chemotherapy in June because it was making her extremely sick.
Reader Comments
What is really scary is the following statement: 'The guardian...was given the power to make medical decisions for Sarah after an appeals court ruling in October said the beliefs and convictions of the girl's parents can't outweigh the rights of the state to protect the child.'
The State has more rights to protect the child than the parents! For those who have 'eyes to see' this is getting really scary! This type of Medical State terrorism is creeping into every facet of American Life. In the not to distant future we will see this same 'protection (of children) from the state' come into play when parents practice their 'Right' to refuse vaccinations.
Medical Mafia Fascism Forces Parents to Hide their Children: [Link]