An Oregon mother will spend 90 days in prison for trying to cure her teenage daughter’s cancer with CBD oil and vitamins instead of conventional medicine.
Christina Dixon, 39, was sentenced Tuesday after being found guilty in November of first-degree custodial interference and two counts of first-degree criminal abuse. Oregon Live reported.
Dixon represented her at trial and even called her daughter Kylie, now 17, to the stand, the paper said.
Kylie Dixon was first diagnosed with liver cancer in 2018 and underwent three rounds of chemotherapy, Oregon Live reported.
By 2019, it was revealed that her mother had not allowed her then 13-year-old daughter to undergo further treatment as outlined by the medical team.
“She put her daughter at risk of death by withdrawing her daughter from chemotherapy and refusing to re-engage with any oncological treatment in favor of CBD oil, vitamins, and other homeopathic treatments,” the district attorney said. Deputy Brian Powell said Tuesday.
Dixon was charged in June of that year after she and Kylie failed to show up for a scheduled surgery. Per KOIN.
Authorities found Dixon and her daughter in Las Vegas. Kiley was returned to Oregon as a state ward, and Dixon turned himself in two months later.
The case subsequently sparked a statewide debate over a parent’s right to make choices about their child’s medical care, even against medical advice.
“Oregonians rallied behind Kylie and her mother because we believe in medical freedom and the right to a second opinion,” Republican Sen. Kim Thatcher said at the time. According to KOIN.
Kylie underwent successful surgery in early 2020 and was declared cancer-free that year. Oregon Live reported at the time..
Prosecutors initially asked for a 19-month prison term, saying Mr Dixon had seriously endangered his daughter’s life.
But defense attorney Greg Oliveros argued that Dixon’s criminal record is clean and that he should be given a suspended sentence without jail time.
“I think some would argue that her love for her children clouded her common sense and judgment,” Oliveros said in court Tuesday, according to KINO.
Kylie Dixon did not attend the sentencing but was supporting her mother online, Oregon Live reported.
Dixon’s ex-husband, Jim Dixon, said he had not seen his daughter since 2020 and was concerned that her daughter had not seen a doctor since the surgery.
