PORTLAND (AP) – An 11-year-old boy who as a toddler was at the center of a legal battle that went to the Maine supreme court over treatment of the virus that causes AIDS died last week at his home in Kunduskeag, outside Bangor.

The case involving Nikolas Emerson drew international attention when the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled in 1998 that state officials could not force his mother, Valerie Wilks, to treat him aggressively with three powerful AIDS drugs.

The family would not say whether Nikolas’ death was AIDS-related. Nikolas was a pupil at Morison Memorial School in Corinth.

Wilks, who was at her son’s side when he died on March 2, is not ready to speak publicly about her son’s death, according to her mother, Patricia Zebulske. “When Valerie is ready to share, she will. It’s just a little too early for her.”

Wilks, who was then Valerie Emerson, discovered that she was HIV positive when she was pregnant with one of her sons. Tests were done on her three older children, and two – Nikolas and his sister Tia – came back positive.

Tia, like her mother, had been taking the AIDS drug AZT. But the girl, who had been sick on and off with pneumonia, reacted badly to the medication and died a painful death in her mother’s arms in 1997, shortly before she turned 4.

Wilks’ much-publicized battle for a mother’s right to make medical decisions for her child became a lightning rod for others in similar situations.

In the aftermath of the supreme court ruling, Wilks told The Associated Press that she had little faith in government statistics about the prospects for children born like Nikolas with HIV.

The Centers for Disease Control said those who follow a regular regime of AIDS treatment had a life expectancy of at least 20 years, while others who forgo treatment were only expected to reach age 9.

“Parents with kids who have HIV have rights, too,” Wilks said. “They can make choices. All any parent can do is follow their heart.”

In its decision, the supreme court left the door open to revisit its decision if Nikolas’ condition worsened, more data became available or new medical treatments were developed.

There is no indication as to whether the state readdressed the issue. The Department of Health and Human Services declined comment, citing concerns over confidentiality laws, according to spokesman Lynn Kippax.

Nikolas’ survivors include his mother and brothers Zakary and Jakob. The family planned a private funeral.

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