The Boston Globe is reporting that a teen admitted to the psychiatric ward of Boston’s Children’s Hospital will remain forcibly committed according to a ruling by a juvenile court judge.

Linda and Lou Pelletier of West Hartford, Conn., went into juvenile court in Boston on Friday hoping a judge would return custody of their 15-year-old daughter to them. Justina’s life has been in limbo for more than 10 months, as the teenager has remained in state custody at Boston Children’s Hospital, mostly in a locked psychiatric ward, while her parents, doctors, and lawyers fought over her future.

Instead, Judge Joseph Johnston ruled the state should maintain custody of Justina, at least for now. He did, however, say he would appoint a court investigator to take a fresh look at the case, and he signaled a willingness to explore returning Justina to her home as long as Connecticut authorities closely monitor her care, according to two sources who were briefed on the decision at the closed hearing. The judge, who also continued his gag order on all parties to the case, set the next hearing for Jan. 10.

The interesting part about this tale is a bit of information conveniently slipped into the story:

The battle over Justina’s future was one of five cases involving Children’s in the last 18 months where a disputed diagnosis led to parents losing custody or being threatened with that extreme step. These conflicts, which typically involve controversial diagnoses at the medical frontier, have exposed the consequences of the ongoing failure to upgrade medical expertise within the state’s Department of Children and Families.

So, in numerous cases involving children with difficult diagnoses, the child is removed from the custody of their parents if they disagree with the doctors on treatment options at this particular hospital.

Does anyone see a pattern here? It certainly doesn’t bode well for those who oppose Obamacare or other governmental programs.
Read more here…