Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010 10:46 p.m. MST

DENVER — The parents of a Utah boy who made a controversial decision to disregard the advice of doctors and state officials when their son was diagnosed with cancer argued their constitutional rights case before the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday.

Daren and Barbara Jensen have spent the past seven years seeking to establish that their rights were violated when the state attempted to remove their son from their custody because they refused to follow the advice of doctors regarding the boy's treatments.

Parke rJensen was 12 when he was diagnosed with a malignant cancer in 2003 that doctors believed would kill him if he did not undergo chemotherapy. His parents opted against the treatment though doctors said it was imperative, prompting a custody battle with the state Division of Child and Family Services. Numerous hearings were held in juvenile court, but on the day the Jensens were to relinquish custody, it was found they had left the state.

In so doing, they defied a custody order, leading to charges of kidnapping and medical neglect, which were eventually reduced to misdemeanors and expunged from their records.  Parker is alive and well today.

Attorney Karra Porter represented the Jensens at Thursday's hearing before the three-judge panel.

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