“Justina’s Law” Seeks to End Experimental Medical Research on Children Seized by Child Protection Services

Now that the tragic abduction of Justina Pelletier by Boston Children's Hospital has been resolved after a national outcry, a bipartisan group of Congressional representatives are introducing new legislation to prevent the kind of medical abuses that led to Justina's forced confinement for more than 16 months. Justina's situation is not unique, but representative of a larger problem with Child Protection Services and hospitals all across the U.S. that use the foster care system to legally abduct children for medical research. Justina's case received national media attention from talk show hosts such as Dr. Phil, Glenn Beck, Mike Huckabee and many others, due to her parents refusal to obey a court gag order on her case. Others in the past have attempted to expose this corrupt system, such as Congresswoman Nancy Schaefer from Georgia. Congresswoman Schaefer lost her Senate seat in Georgia as a result of her speaking out, but states it was something “worth losing” for standing up for the rights of parents who were having their children kidnapped by CPS. She and her husband were found murdered in their home in 2010.

Chicago Children’s Hospital Takes Custody of 16-Year-Old Away from Parent Who Sought Second Opinion

As people around the country celebrate the homecoming of Justina Pelletier, who was held against her will and the desire of her parents for 16 months over a disagreement on medical treatment, a case in Chicago reminds us that her situation is representative of a larger movement across the country to take children away from parents for the purpose of “medical treatment”. NBC News in Chicago is reporting that Michelle Rider and her 16-year-old son, Isaiah Rider, traveled from Kansas City to Lurie Children’s Hospital after doctors in her hometown, Texas, and Boston were unable to effectively treat his neurofibromatosis — a painful condition that causes tumors to grow on his nerves. When Isaiah’s pain was reportedly not getting any better at Lurie’s, his mother attempted to have him transferred to another hospital. But doctors at Lurie’s Hospital reported to Cook County Court that Michelle was guilty of “medical child abuse”, as they disagreed with the course of treatment chosen by the mother. As a result, they seized custody of the child and put him into a foster home, allowing the mother to only be able to visit her son twice a week for one-hour supervised visits.

Justina Pelletier: Please Let me go Home!

Justina Pelletier has been held in custody against her will, and against the will of her family, for over a year, simply because a group of doctors at Boston Children's Hospital disagreed with her diagnosis by her physician at Tuft's Medical Center. Justina's family was referred to some specialists at Boston Children's Hospital regarding her condition, mitochondrial disease, but instead a different set of doctors intervened and said her condition as psychological. When the parents disagreed, they were escorted by security out of the hospital and ended up losing custody of their daughter who was originally confined to a psychiatric ward at the hospital. Justina herself is never present at court hearings where Judge Joseph Johnston has refused to return her custody to her parents, so her voice in the matter is never heard. Her family recorded the above video so people can hear Justina's voice in the matter.

15-Year-Old Girl Awarded Permanent Custody to State of Massachusetts Amidst National Outcry

This week Judge Joseph Johnston of Massachusetts juvenile court awarded permanent custody of 15-year-old Justina Pelletier to the State of Massachusetts against her desires and the desires of her parents, and also amidst great public outcry. The plight of Justina's case has garnered national attention after her father disobeyed a gag order originally imposed by the judge (which has been since removed due to great public outcry). Justina's story has been covered in several major media outlets, such as Dr. Phil, The Blaze, FoxNews, and many others. If you are not familiar with this story, or think that it does not affect you, think again. This is a case where one medical institution, more powerful than another one in another state, has abused the power of the state to impose their views of psychiatric care by force against a different medical diagnosis by a different team of doctors. This also violates the right of the parents to choose their own medical treatment for their 15-year-old daughter, who has been removed from her family and kept detained under psychiatric care, away from her family for over a year now, even as her health continues to deteriorate. If this kind of medical tyranny is allowed to continue, even under tremendous negative national media exposure, it will drastically change the direction of forced medical treatment inside the United States and affect everyone. Could it be that Justina is part of some drug research going on at Boston Children’s Hospital, and that strong political forces aligned with Harvard are putting pressure on this judge? We may never know, but for now, the nation looks on in horror at what is happening in Massachusetts, and begins to learn just how widespread the practice of medical tyranny is in the United States today.

Judge Continues to Refuse to Release 15-Year-Old Girl Held in Psychiatric Care Against Parent’s Wish

While the Justina Pelletier story has gained coverage in the national mainstream media which has for the most part rallied to the side of the parents, the judge presiding over her case continues to refuse to release her to her parents' custody. After the most recent court date on Monday, the family issued the following statement to Fox CT: Boston, March 17, 2014-- "At the hearing today, Judge Johnston took under advisement the motions previously submitted by the Pelletiers, but refused to take action about Justina’s care or custody." "Despite Justina’s worsening condition, Judge Johnston still has not enforced his ruling to transfer Justina’s medical care to Tufts. Justina remains at the Framingham Foster Facility and has not been seen by a single doctor, apart from an emergency room visit on Saturday, due to her declining medical condition." Earlier in the day Justina's parents were interviewed on the popular daytime television program Dr. Phil.

Foster Homes: Where Good Kids Go To Die

A former CPS Investigator exposes the seedy underworld of foster homes in the United States, where children are routinely physically, emotionally, and sexually abused.

Parents Denied Access to Son in Forced Medical Detention and Forced Medication Case in Alaska

A young man’s deteriorating health led the state of Alaska to assume full control of his medical care — against his own written will and the against the wishes of his family. Since last October he has been trapped in a hospital, isolated without visitors, on an extensive series of psychotropic drugs, in a condition that continues to diminish.

Mother Collapses in Court House After Daughter Put in Foster Care Over Medical Dispute

The mother of Justina Pelletier, the 15 year old girl who was seized by Boston Children's Hospital and held for over a year, reportedly collapsed in court Monday when she learned the judge was placing her daughter in foster care. Lou Pelletier, the father of Justina, had made a round of news and talk show appearances the previous week, telling the story of their daughter which has garnered national media attention. There were high hopes that they might see some positive results from this case that has been going on for over a year, but their daughter was not returned to them this time either. She will reportedly be transferred to a foster home until the next court appearance later in March.

Justina Pelletier Finally Leaves Boston Children’s Hospital, but not Returned to Parents

The Boston Globe and the West Hartford Patch are reporting that Justina Pelletier has finally left Boston Children's Hospital, where she was held captive against her desire, and the desire of her parents, for almost one year. She has not been returned to her parents, however. She has reportedly been transferred to the Wayside Youth and Family Support Network in Framingham, Massachusetts, and is still under the care of doctors at Boston's Children's hospital. A judge ruled earlier this month (January 2014) that Boston Children's Hospital could not indefinitely detain Justina in their Children’s Bader 5 psychiatric unit, and reportedly ordered that a plan be put into place to transfer her back to Connecticut, which is where her home is and where her parents live. It is also where Tufts Medical Center is located, the facility originally treating Justina before Boston Children's Hospital had the Massachusetts Child Protection Agency seize custody of Justina due to a disagreement over her treatment. Beau Berman, a local investigative reporter from Fox CT, has covered this story in depth. He gives background information regarding Justina's case, showing how Boston Children's Hospital has a history of seizing children from parents. Some of those children have even died. Unless a local media source picks up the story, or it happens to someone you know, most Americans are totally unaware that this is happening quite frequently in the United States. Medical tyranny is sadly a reality today in the U.S., and if you disagree with a medical professional over the care of your child, you face losing custody of your child. Justina's case is especially bizarre, because the parents were actually following a treatment plan for her that was recommended by doctors in their home town. Their only "crime" was to disagree with the doctors at Boston Children's Hospital and want to discharge her and take her back to her original doctors. Boston Children's Hospital is part of the Harvard Medical School system, with strong ties to funding from the federal government. Boston Children's Hospital "is home to the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric hospital. More than 1,100 scientists, including nine members of the National Academy of Sciences, 11 on-staff members of the Institute of Medicine and 9 members of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute." Could it be that Justina is part of a medical research trial?

Child Taken Away from Parents for Medical Reasons Dies in Foster Care

WREG News Channel 3 in Memphis has reported on the story of an 11-month-old child who died while in custody of the Department of Child Services (DCS). DCS had reportedly removed the child, along with his 2-year-old sibling, from the home of their parents because they suffered from "digeorge syndrome", which limits delay of essential body functions. DCS had judged that the parents did not have "sufficient training" to properly care for their children. So the two children were placed in foster care. They were to be returned to their parents in October, but the father reportedly lacked a one-hour course. The father died in a car accident in early December. The 11-month-old child died while in foster care in November. Paramedics reportedly found the child in the foster home with a "wet wipe" stuffed in his mouth. We report these stories on Health Impact News, because medical tyranny is increasing in the United States, and these stories are not as rare as you might think. All across America, children are being taken away from their parents for differences in opinion about medical treatment, or because the State believes they can raise children better than parents. The choice of parents to choose their own medical care for their children is increasingly being taken away all across the country. While protecting children from situations where they are in danger is a legitimate concern, the system in place today is too often corrupted by financial incentives, or arrogant medical personnel overstepping their bounds of authority and forcing their beliefs and values on those unable to resist or fight back.