"Court to decide case of Conn. teen forced to take chemotherapy" by Dave Collins, Associated Press January 07, 2015
HARTFORD — The Connecticut Supreme Court will review the case of a 17-year old cancer patient whose refusal to take chemotherapy prompted state officials to take custody of her and force her to undergo the treatments.
The justices are set to hear arguments Thursday in the case of the girl known in court documents as Cassandra C., who will turn 18 in September. She was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, according to court documents. Her mother supported her decision to forgo the treatments.
Assistant Public Defender Joshua Michtom, who is representing Cassandra, said the case marks the first time the state Supreme Court will consider the ‘‘mature minor doctrine’’ recognized by several other states. The doctrine generally allows court hearings for minors 16 and 17 years old to prove they are mature enough to make medical decisions.
‘‘Give us the chance to prove that she has the maturity to do this,’’ Michtom said. ‘‘One has a right to bodily integrity. It doesn’t matter if it’s harmful. An adult’s right to refuse care is without limitation, provided they’re not incompetent.’’
Cassandra is now confined to a room at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford, with a hospital staff member posted at the door so she cannot leave, according to a brief filed by Michtom and Michael Taylor, an attorney for Cassandra’s mother, Jackie Fortin of Windsor Locks.
It is not completely clear why Cassandra and her mother oppose chemotherapy, which doctors at the children’s medical center say would give Cassandra an 85 percent chance of survival, according to court documents. Without treatment, the doctors said there was a near certainty of death within two years.
I think I know why they opposed being radiated.
Fortin did not return phone and e-mail messages.
‘‘She has always — even years ago — said that if ever she had cancer . . . she would not put poison into her body,’’ Fortin told WVIT-TV recently.
Michtom said the daughter and mother’s objection to treatment does not involve religion.
After Cassandra was diagnosed with high-risk Hodgkin lymphoma, she and her mother missed several appointments, prompting doctors at the hospital to notify the state Department of Children and Families, court documents say.
The agency investigated and was granted temporary custody of Cassandra by a trial court. Lawyers for Cassandra and her mother sought an injunction prohibiting medical treatment but were unsuccessful.
The teen underwent two days of treatment in November but ran away for a week, court documents say.
Treatment on Cassandra resumed Dec. 17, with surgery to install a port in her chest used to administer chemotherapy chemicals. Chemotherapy began the next day and continues, court documents say.
DCF officials defended their treatment of Cassandra.
‘‘When experts, such as the several physicians involved in this case, tell us with certainty that a child will die as a result of leaving a decision up to a parent, then the department has a responsibility to take action,’’ they said in a statement.
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"Conn. court says teen must have chemotherapy" by Pat Eaton-Robb, Associated Press January 09, 2015
HARTFORD — A 17-year-old girl being forced by state officials to undergo chemotherapy for her cancer said Thursday night she understands she will die if she stops treatment but it should be her decision.
The state Supreme Court ruled earlier in the day that state officials are not violating the rights of the girl, Cassandra C., who has Hodgkin lymphoma.
Cassandra told the Associated Press in an exclusive text interview from the hospital that it disgusts her to have ‘‘such toxic harmful drugs’’ in her body and she would like to explore alternative treatments.
Oh, no, that can't be allowed.
She said she understands ‘‘death is the outcome of refusing chemo’’ but she believes in ‘‘the quality of my life, not the quantity.’’
‘‘Being forced into the surgery and chemo has traumatized me,’’ Cassandra said. ‘‘I do believe I am mature enough to make the decision to refuse the chemo, but it should not be about maturity, it should be a given human right to decide what you want and don’t want for your own body.’’
It works for the pro-abortion people.
The court ruled Cassandra’s lawyers had the opportunity to prove she is mature enough to make that decision during a Juvenile Court hearing in December and failed to do so.
Cassandra will be free to make her own medical decisions when she turns 18 in September. She, with the support of her mother, had fought against the six-month course of chemotherapy.
She better not die in-between.
The case centered on whether the girl is mature enough to determine how to treat her lymphoma, with which she was diagnosed in September. Several other states recognize the mature minor doctrine.
Cassandra was allowed to go home to undergo treatment in November but instead ran away for a week, according to court documents.
‘‘Cassandra either intentionally misrepresented her intentions to the trial court or she changed her mind on this issue of life and death,’’ Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers said.
The teenager is confined in a room at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford and is undergoing chemotherapy, which doctors said would give her an 85 percent chance of survival. Without it, they said, there was a near-certainty of death within two years.
Cassandra’s mother, Jackie Fortin, of Windsor Locks, said after the arguments Thursday that as a single mother for the last 15 years she would not allow her daughter to die. She said they just want to seek alternative treatments that do not include putting the ‘‘poison’’ of chemotherapy into her body.
Fortin and her lawyer said they are considering their next step after losing the case but expect to go back to the trial court in an attempt to more fully explore the mature minor argument.
After Cassandra was diagnosed with high-risk Hodgkin lymphoma, she and her mother missed several appointments, prompting doctors at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center to notify the state Department of Children and Families, court documents say.
The child welfare agency investigated, and a trial court granted it temporary custody of Cassandra.
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The whole thing reminds me of the Pelletier girl.
