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Family battling Massachusetts hospital to bring daughter home
Eyewitness News ^ | Decccccc20, 2013 | Karen Lee, Joseph Wenzel IV

Posted on 12/21/2013 5:51:00 AM PST by Innovative

The saga goes back to February. The 15-year-old was getting treated for Mitochondrial Disease, which affects the muscles.

When symptoms grew worse, Justina Pelletier ended up at Boston Children's Hospital. Doctors there came up with a startling diagnosis. They said Justina wasn't physically sick, but mentally sick with Somatoform Disorder. It's a mental illness where someone actually experiences physical pain.

When her parents tried to take her out of the hospital, they were stopped.

It's now become a custody battle between the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families and her parents.

(Excerpt) Read more at wfsb.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events; US: Massachusetts
KEYWORDS: falseimprisonment; justinapelletier; medical; parents; parentsrights
This is beyond mind-boggling -- parents are not allowed to take their daughter home, to go see other doctors, get second and third opinions. In the meantime the poor girl has been stuck in the hospital for over 10 months!!!
1 posted on 12/21/2013 5:51:00 AM PST by Innovative
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To: Innovative

Oh — and “Justina Pelletier has been moved to the psych ward.”

The hospital should be criminally charged for false imprisonment and torture.


2 posted on 12/21/2013 5:54:13 AM PST by Innovative ("Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." -- Vince Lombardi)
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To: Innovative
They said Justina wasn't physically sick, but mentally sick with Somatoform Disorder. It's a mental illness where someone actually experiences physical pain.

Gee... I hope this is covered by ObamaCare.

3 posted on 12/21/2013 5:57:30 AM PST by Cowboy Bob (They are called "Liberals" because the word "parasite" was already taken.)
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To: Cowboy Bob

Remember, in Massachusetts they already have a version of Obamacare — maybe that’s why the hospital is keeping her, they are milking the state.

Obamacare crashes into Romneycare

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/obamacare-romneycare-massachusetts-101311.html

“Massachusetts created a Romneycare-inspired template for President Barack Obama’s health reform effort. Now, as the Bay State is struggling to upgrade for the Obamacare era, its enrollment system is buckling under technical glitches like those that hobbled HealthCare.gov.

State officials are increasingly concerned that thousands of Massachusetts residents seeking coverage are lost in a wilderness of misfiled applications and cybermalfunctions. Now, they’re moving ahead with a labor-intensive backup plan aimed at making sure that no one loses coverage when Obamacare starts in January.”

In the meantime the individual is the loser...


4 posted on 12/21/2013 6:01:09 AM PST by Innovative ("Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." -- Vince Lombardi)
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To: Innovative
The was a case in OH where an Amish family wasn't allowed to stop chemo treatments for their daughter. They had to go into hiding wirh her.

I've been thinking about this. Bad parenting shouldn't be against the law. That's the point we're getting to, and the state is making decisions that only parents can make with clear conscience.

There might be some lives lost if the state doesn't intervene. But I'd wager more are saved if the parents who know their children best do the decision making.

5 posted on 12/21/2013 6:08:18 AM PST by grania
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To: Innovative

Rest assured that if it was my daughter and I wanted her out of that hospital she would be coming out..


6 posted on 12/21/2013 6:19:15 AM PST by SECURE AMERICA (Where can I go to sign is for the American Revolution 2013 and the Crusades 2013?)
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To: grania

It has been the case ever since I can remember that parents are not allowed to refuse medical treatment for their child. I remember court cases like this coming up in the 1960s and 1970s. The parents lose these cases.

In this specific case, we really do not know what is going on. The girl could be a victim of Munchausen by proxy, in which case her parents are convincing her that she has a real disease, and the medical doctors have found otherwise. Parents engaged in Munchausen by proxy can kill their children, all the while displaying a high level of concern and affection for their child. I shouldn’t actually say “parents”, since usually it is the mother imposing Munchausen by proxy, and the father, thinking that she is displaying love for the children, never suspects the dark truth. In extreme Munchausen by proxy, mothers hurt or poison their own children. Munchausen is a mental illness.


7 posted on 12/21/2013 6:43:01 AM PST by exDemMom (Current visual of the hole the US continues to dig itself into: http://www.usdebtclock.org/)
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To: exDemMom
Munchasen is a mental illness

Wouldn't it be better for everyone involved if the family or the parent got consuling? It's very hard to assume the state not going overboard on power trips if medical decisions don't involve the parents.

8 posted on 12/21/2013 6:52:50 AM PST by grania
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To: grania

In the case of Munchausen by proxy, I do not believe it is safe for the children to be left in the parent’s custody.

The disorder is very hard to diagnose.

Legally, parents engaged in Munchausen by proxy are prosecuted as they would be for committing other types of child abuse.


9 posted on 12/21/2013 7:05:49 AM PST by exDemMom (Current visual of the hole the US continues to dig itself into: http://www.usdebtclock.org/)
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To: grania

If that were the case... how come the daughter is doing worse in the hospital than she was previously? According to the article she has lost weight and her hair and can no longer sit up without assistance.


10 posted on 12/21/2013 7:55:18 AM PST by fireman15 (Check your facts before making ignorant statements.)
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To: Innovative

Are these even residents of that state? If not, then smuggle her out somehow and take her back to her own state. She`s committed no crimes so there should be no reason to extradite.


11 posted on 12/21/2013 8:06:44 AM PST by nomad
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