From Deseret News archives:
State is still harassing us, Jensen says
"This seems like retaliation to me. We gave them exactly what they said they needed and now they want a dollar-for-dollar accounting of what the money was spent on," Jensen said of the state's request for more information about the fund that was set up by a family member, Tracy Jensen.
"There's nothing in the law that says they can do that. We asked them for the statute, to prove it, and they got upset. The consumer protection agency said they'd subpoena that information and we said, 'Go ahead.' Then they said they'd work with us, but just don't go to the media."
Jensen and his wife, Barbara, were guest speakers at a Dixie Republican Forum meeting held Tuesday at a St. George restaurant. The Sandy couple spent the summer in a heated custody battle over their son and his medical care.
The state recently dropped its demand that Parker Jensen undergo chemotherapy treatments for what doctors at Primary Children's Medical Center said could be Ewing's sarcoma, a bone cancer that can also show up in soft tissue.
Daren Jensen heaped criticism on 3rd District Judge Robert Yeates, who ruled in favor of Primary Children's Medical Center and ordered the Jensens to turn their son over for treatment.
"With no evidence whatsoever, we were ordered into chemo," he said. "We wanted to know where the cancer was and they refused."
Jensen had even more scathing remarks about Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who is a neighbor of the Jensens, and the guardian ad litem attorney assigned to their case.
"They're part of what I call the devil's triangle. There's the judge, the attorney general's office and the guardian ad litem," he said. "A lot of people are saying we're anti-medical community, but we're not. The tests on what they took out of Parker's mouth are inconclusive."
In dismissing the case, Yeates told the Jensens that whatever happened to Parker now would be on their own heads, said Daren Jensen.
"Thank you, thank you! That's what we've been fighting for all along. We want to sign on the dotted line, to be responsible for the financial, medical and spiritual health of our child," he said.
E-MAIL: nperkins@infowest.com
