The Connecticut State Supreme Court has released a 19-page document breaking down every detail leading up to the January 8 decision to allow forced chemotherapy on 17-year-old Cassandra C.
In the opinion, which will be published in the Connecticut Law Journal on April 21, Chief Justice Chase Rogers reviews the timeline from when Cassandra was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and declared she wanted to deny chemotherapy to the Supreme Court case that found Cassandra was not mature enough to make her own medical decisions.
Cassandra and her mother’s attorneys ultimately wanted to declare a mature minor doctrine, but according to the opinion, “The United States Supreme Court has recognized that most children simply are not able to make sound judgments concerning many decisions.” In short, a minor is presumed not mature unless proven otherwise, and the Court didn’t find any reasons to believe she broke that mold.
Cassandra is finishing her last round of chemotherapy at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center and is expected to return home on April 27.
Click here to read the full Supreme Court opinion.
