Is anyone paying attention to Justina Pelletier case / allegations of Boston Children's Hosptial abuses? ? (2014, home)

[kudzutoo]

I heard about this case on a national news radio program, then did some research and found this alarming Boston Globe article : The Justina Pelletier case: A medical collision with a child in the middle - Metro - The Boston Globe

The summary is that a dr at Boston Children's Hospital disagreed with a Tufts' doctor's diagnosis of a teen girl's rare medical condition; the BCH doctor said she had a psych disorder. The girl's parents wanted to transfer her back to Tufts; BCH filed a 51A report with Department of Child and Family services, girl was taken away from parents and locked in a psych ward for over a year. Her parents have yet to regain custody (the family are not MA residents, by the way) and the child's condition has deteriorated.

According to the article, " These cases are rare, but not as rare as one might think. In just the last 18 months, Children’s — which given its reputation attracts many of the toughest cases from across the Northeast — has been involved in at least five cases where a disputed medical diagnosis led to parents either losing custody or being threatened with that extreme measure. Similar custody fights have occurred on occasion at other pediatric hospitals around the country.

It happens often enough that the pediatrician who until recently ran the child protection teams at both Children’s and Massachusetts General Hospital said she and others in her field have a name for this aggressive legal-medical maneuver. They call it a “parent-ectomy.” ...


...Around the same time as Justina’s admission, a 5-year-old Massachusetts girl, who had been treated for mitochondrial disorder at Mass. General, arrived at Children’s. Within a couple weeks, her mother was escorted out of the hospital by security late on a Friday afternoon, and the state took emergency custody of the girl. For the first time in her life, she spent the night without a family member at her side."


Is there much attention being given to this specific case and to similar cases at BCH?

[CaseyB]

I've heard lots about this case, I can't recall any similar cases.

[massnative71]

I believe there is some kind of a protest on Monday, for anyone who is interested.

[tribechamy]

Originally Posted by kudzutoo

Is there much attention being given to this specific case and to similar cases at BCH?

Such a sad situation, I do believe a lot of attention is on it due to the Globe series of articles, and that public pressure does seem to be influencing some aspects of the handling of the case:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...2YL/story.html

It reminds me of this case (not at BCH but also local): A mother's battle to be believed - Boston.com

It does give me pause, particularly what was said about the frequency of "parent-ectomies". Before this story broke we had been thinking about switching our pediatric care to a BCH satellite office nearby but dropped those plans after reading about all of this.

[in_newengland]

I posted in another thread about this case a few weeks ago. I see from the Globe article that the next hearing is March 17 and I hope that sees her returned to her original doctor, her parents and her home. This is unbelievable.

[bostonguy1960]

Jeff Kuhner on WRKO 680 AM has talked a lot about it on his morning drive show.

[mamasplace]

Parent-ectomies are not new in the state of MA, and certainly not new at BCH. It has been happening for years to those whose religious views are in disagreement/misinterpreted/misunderstood by the hospital. It doesn't take long for a hospital to get a court order to force their view of what treatment is acceptable/unacceptable for a minor child.

But think about it- if it is happening there at BCH, it only stands to reason that it can happen to families in any hospital in the state of MA.

[Mordi]

Mitchondrial disease is exceptionally rare. Mental illness is exceptionally common. You really think the docs at Children's got this wrong?

The girl is crazy, most likely in part due to physical and/or sexual abuse from her parents. The case strikes home because it plays on a parent's fears of having their child taken away. But the parents are the real problems here, and the poor girl needs mental health care, not care for some incredibly rare condition that she doesn't have. The parents are denying her the care that her medical professionals deem necessary. Children's Hospital is perfectly justified in my opinion.

[dtopaz]

The Pelletier case is a sad one, one in which egos and agendas have at times become more important than the welfare of the child. Some of the more publicity-hungry elements of the Christian Right, such as Liberty Counsel, have become involved, which further complicates an already complex situation.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by Mordi

Mitchondrial disease is exceptionally rare. Mental illness is exceptionally common. You really think the docs at Children's got this wrong?

The girl is crazy, most likely in part due to physical and/or sexual abuse from her parents. The case strikes home because it plays on a parent's fears of having their child taken away. But the parents are the real problems here, and the poor girl needs mental health care, not care for some incredibly rare condition that she doesn't have. The parents are denying her the care that her medical professionals deem necessary. Children's Hospital is perfectly justified in my opinion.

Are you her doctor?


I hope nothing like this ever happens to you or your child, and you'll also be in my prayers tonight...