If you are a regular listener, you are very familiar with the plight of the Pelletier family as they have spent over a year trying to regain custody of their 16-year-old daughter Justina. The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families took custody of Justina in February 2013 after her parents disputed the diagnosis doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital’s handed down. Boston Children’s Hospital said the then 15-year-old had a psychiatric disorder – not mitochondrial disease, which her parents had been treating her for at the direction of another doctor.
Glenn has warned that whether it be through Common Core or medical laws, progressives are looking to take parents out of the equation whenever and wherever possible. A new report out of Michigan seems to corroborate fears that states are taking steps to alienate parents from their children’s medical care.
On radio this morning, Glenn reacted to a fiery blog posted by Michigan mother Christy Duffy, who recently took her 17-year-old daughter to a local hospital only to see a notice posted alerting parents that a nurse will need to “have a short 5 minute private conversation” with children ages 12 to 17.
Duffy recounted her experience in a post on her blog on Monday:
I was there last week for an appointment for Amy. She hurt her foot, which makes dancing difficult, so we had to get that checked out. Amy is 17; I asked if this policy was in effect and if so, how could I opt out. The receptionist told me it’s a new law and there is no opting out. Working to keep my cool, I said, “I’m sure there is.” She said, “No, there isn’t.” At which point I asked if I needed to leave and go to the urgent care center because I was not submitting my daughter to such a conversation.
That did not go over well
The receptionist closed the window. Almost immediately, the office manager turned the corner and said, “Mrs. Duffy, may I speak with you?”
She said there was a new policy that would allow a child to access his/her medical records online and the child would be allowed to block a parent from viewing the website. The nurse would also inform my children that the doctor’s office is a safe place for them to receive information about STDs, HIV and birth control. That is what the nurse would be chatting about with my children without any pesky parental oversight.
Read the full blog post HERE.
Below is a photo of the sign Duffy was greeted with that has since been taken down:
Photo Credit: Christy Duffy
As TheBlaze reported, in a follow-up blog posted on Tuesday, Duffy explained that a woman in the hospital’s “privacy department” contacted her. The woman apparently informed Duffy that Michigan law requires a minor be given the ability to deny his or her parents access to the online portion of his or her medical records.
The representative did say, however, that the hospital “jumped the gun” in posting the sign because it’s not clear how the policy will be implemented yet. Furthermore, the private conversation between a minor and a nurse is apparently not required by law.
Duffy, however, was not satisfied with that explanation.
“They will attempt to separate a child from her parent at an appointment. They just don’t know when,” she wrote. “I have nothing to hide. I do not abuse my children. But that’s not the point. The point is that parents’ rights are eroding right in front of our eyes.”
As Glenn concluded, the only way to stop this violation of parental rights is to take a stand as this mother has.
“We will not conform,” Glenn concluded. “This is Justina Pelletier now going all across the country.”