Free Justina: Stockman seeks to strip funding for risky research on wards of the state
Press Release
Congressman Stockman will introduce legislation cutting off funds to medical institutions that conduct greater than minimal risk research on wards of the state, deny First Amendment rights to parents and wards of the state, and take children away from their parents over disagreements on subjective medical diagnoses.
Such medical institutions include the National Institute of Health, state agencies, medical facilities, and hospitals. This bill would direct the Inspector General of Health and Human Services to withhold funds from these institutions for the aforementioned reasons.
The story of Justina Pelletier, who has mitochondrial disease and was declared a ward of the state over a custody battle regarding a subjective psychotropic drug diagnosis, motivated Congressman Stockman to introduce the legislation.
Lou and Linda Pelletier brought their daughter, Justina, to Boston Children's Hospital for flu-like symptoms in February 2013. Justina had been diagnosed with and receiving treatment for Mitochondrial Disease, a genetic medical condition, since 2011. Less than 24 hours after being admitted to Boston Children's Hospital, mental health workers disagreed with the Mitochondrial Disease diagnosis and insisted she had a psychiatric disorder called Somatoform (though there are no fool-proof medical or genetic tests to validate this as a legitimate medical condition).
Upon learning of the psychiatric diagnosis, the Pelletiers attempted to discharge Justina from the hospital. In response, the Hospital filed an allegation of medical child abuse against them. Justina has now been removed from her parents' care, and has been under psychiatric treatment for over a year.
"Boston Children's Hospital will not disclose if they are performing experiments on Justina. What is known is that several institutions are engaging in this ethically questionable behavior and getting federal funds for it. It is wrong for hospitals and research centers to use your tax money to perform risky, unbeneficial research on wards of the state," said Congressman Stockman.
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