Chemo Forced on Connecticut Teen Against Her Will

Update: The State Supreme Court sided with DCF and Cassandra will remain in DCF custody. Read more here.

A 17-year-old Connecticut girl and her mother will take on the state Department of Children and Families in court after the agency forced the girl to undergo chemotherapy against her will.

A girl identified as “Cassandra C.” in court documents was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in September 2014 and physicians recommended chemotherapy, according to Fox CT.

Cassandra decided she didn’t want to undergo chemotherapy. A trial court granted DCF an order of temporary custody for Cassandra in order for chemotherapy to begin, according to court documents. She initially complied with the order and received two treatments, but then ran away in November to avoid further treatment.

“My daughter is refusing chemo because of the poison toxins she does not want in her body,” said Jackie Fortin, Cassandra’s mother in an interview with the Hartford Courant.

She added that the decision isn’t based on religious grounds and she didn’t influence her daughter’s decision.

“It would be her decision to accept chemo at a place and time she felt comfortable,” she said.

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Police issued a Silver Alert for Cassandra in November when she ran away and she was found days later. It was noted that she was in immediate need of medical attention.

Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a type of immune system cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. There were an estimated 9,190 new cases in 2014 and 1,180 deaths.

A lawyer representing Cassandra told the Hartford Courant that doctors believe she has an 80 to 85 percent chance of surviving if she follows the treatment.

DCF said in a statement that it has an obligation to take custody of a child when experts agree that a parent’s decision will result in the death of a child.

A lawyer for Cassandra’s mother has asked the state Supreme Court to adopt the mature minor doctrine, which allows certain minors to make major life decisions, according to court documents.

Experts predict the case could have legal ramifications regarding the rights of minors in the state and the nation when it comes to major life decisions.

Read the Fox CT report here.

Read the Courant report here.

Image via Windsor Locks PD