Teen refusing chemotherapy after she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma was a case that has taken the State of Connecticut to interfere. Cassandra C. was battling with lymphoma and now is battling with the state as the teen refusing chemotherapy filed a petition to hear her side.
After the 17-year-old girl was diagnosed with lymphoma, the Connecticut Children's Medical Center (CCMC) advised her to undergo chemotherapy to save her life. She had two chemotherapy sessions before teen refusing chemotherapy fled home to resist upcoming treatment sessions.
Cassandra's decision was strongly supported by her mother, Jackie Fortin who believed that chemotherapy is "poison."
"She knows the long-term effects of having chemo, what it does to your organs, what it does to your body. She may not be able to have children after this because it affects everything in your body. It not only kills cancer, it kills everything in your body," Jackie Fortin said in a video published on the Hartford Courant's website, according to Fox News.
The teen refusing chemotherapy was represented by Michael S. Taylor in appealing to Connecticut state court to adopt "mature minor doctrine" that permits minors to decide on their own especially when it comes to medical procedures. The doctrine applies in 14 states but not Connecticut.
The case prompted the Division of Children and Families (DCF) to step in. They assumed as temporary custodian to Cassandra C. since November, the teen refusing chemotherapy. The agency orders the teen to cooperate with chemotherapy sessions and has also asked the mother to do the same.
Huffington Post reported that Cassandra and her mother was filing appeal to the court as they fight for anti-chemotherapy rights. They mentioned the trial court has violated their constitutional rights in permitting DCF to force the girl to receive medical treatment against her will.
When Cassandra fled her home and she returned, the teen refusing chemotherapy still stand for the same as she was supported by her mother. The doctors attending to her testified in court and requested that the 17-year-old girl be removed from her home and stay with DCF agency as she undergoes treatments.
The National Cancer Institute mentions chemotherapy side effects including anemia, bleeding problems, hair loss, infections, memory changes, nausea and vomiting among others.
The teen refusing chemotherapy was subjected to surgery on Dec.17 where a port was installed in her chest to administer the chemicals given for her chemotherapy.
The teen refusing chemotherapy and her mother's appeal was also supported by the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, which requested a hearing to weigh if Cassandra is mature to make her own medical decisions.
The union also mentioned the appeal protects the most basic civil liberties which are the right to bodily integrity. What is your stand on the teen refusing chemotherapy? Do you think she has the right to fight medical treatment?
