Justina Pelletier is Reunited with her Family after 16 Months

THOMPSON, Conn.
Complimentary Story

   On June 18, after 16 months of being held prisoner by the bureaucracy of the State of Massachusetts at the behest of Boston Children’s Hospital, Justina Pelletier left the Susan Wayne Center for Excellence to return to her home with her parents, Linda and Lou Pelletier, and her three older sisters.
This 16-month ordeal has been a nightmare for Justina and her family.
   Prior to February 2013, Justina attended a private school in Connecticut and was actively involved in figure skating competitions. She was being successfully treated by Dr. Korson at Tufts Medical Center for Mitochondrial disease.
   After developing flu-like symptoms, Dr. Korson recommended that the family take Justina to see Dr. Flores, a gastroenterologist who had been treating Justina before he transferred to Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH). Dr. Jurriaan Peters, a BCH resident who was only seven months out of medical school, saw Justina and decided he would change her diagnosis to Somatoform Disorder. He did not contact any of Justina’s previous expert physicians and refused to allow Dr. Flores (the doctor she came to see) to examine her. BCH psychologist Dr. Simona Bujoreanu confirmed the Somatoform diagnosis after only 25 minutes with Justina, likewise without contacting other physicians. Dr. Bujoreanu is researching Somatoform Disorder under an NIH grant. Any Massachusetts ward of the state is subject to research being performed upon them without their consent.
   BCH requested that the Pelletiers sign a new treatment plan which would remove her medications, prevent the parents from seeking a second opinion, and place Justina in a psychiatric ward. It also mandated that the Pelletiers never speak to Justina about her medical treatments or diagnosis and never speak to the doctors responsible for her care without prior approval. The Pelletiers declined and sought to discharge their daughter and return her to Tufts Medical Center. BCH called in the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF), charging the parents with “medical abuse.” Justina was removed from their custody at an emergency hearing and had remained imprisoned by the state until June 18.

 

Learn how to email this article to others