Virginia V. Cherrix

Virginia v. Cherrix is a court case in which the Commonwealth of Virginia sued to force Starchild Abraham ("Wolf") Cherrix (born in June 1990), aged 16 at the time of the court case, to undergo further conventional medical treatment for a highly treatable form of cancer, Hodgkin disease.

Cherrix was diagnosed with the blood cancer and underwent an initial round of chemotherapy in 2005. When he was told in early 2006 that he needed further treatment, he rejected any further use of chemotherapy or radiation because of the side effects. His parents supported his choice, and were subsequently accused by the state of medical neglect of their child. The lower court decided against the parents, but the decision was overturned on appeal and the parties reached a compromise in a consent decree, in which Cherrix would receive treatment from a board-certified specialist of Cherrix's choice.

The case resulted in a new law, dubbed Abraham's Law, that increased the rights of patients aged 14 to 17 in Virginia to refuse potentially life-saving medical treatment.

Cherrix reached the age of majority in June 2008, and has been free to pursue or reject treatment without legal oversight since then, like any other adult.