Nation: A Battle over Cancer Care

(2 of 2)

This legal pressure is not expected to have much impact on the Greens. They were getting financial support from the National Health Federation, a right-wing California organization that also opposes fluoridation of water, and from private citizens who contend that the state has no business telling parents how to care for their children. With these contributions, the Greens hope to get by while they are in Mexico. "There is such a loving atmosphere here at the clinic," says Gerald Green. "The doctor, after giving us the test results, tells us, 'We'll be praying with you.' You just don't find that in the U.S."

Obviously the motives of both the parents and the state of Massachusetts are the same: they want Chad to survive. But the essential question for Chad Green is what kind of treatment he finally gets—and how long it keeps him alive.