West Hartford teenager Justina Pelletier met with Congresswoman Michele Bachmann Wednesday in Washington to push a new law in her name.
Bachmann has introduced a bipartisan bill nicknamed “Justina’s Law” that would ban federal funding for medical experimentation on children who are wards of the state.
“She’s now free and the purpose of Justina’s law will be to make sure this never, ever, ever, happens again and Justina hit it out of the park when she spoke to numerous members of Congress today to ask them to support Justina’s law,” said Bachmann.
Pelletier says she was mistreated and the subject of medical experimentation at Children’s Hospital in Boston, while in the custody of the State of Massachusetts.
Bachmann says several hospitals involve children in research that presents great risk, sometimes with no benefit to the child.
“I just want the law to be passed: Justina’s law,” said Pelletier, sitting next to Bachmann Wednesday.
Bachmann says Justina received a standing ovation when she addressed about 70 members of congress during a lunch briefing.
“We know that this is happening all over the country in all 50 states, that children who are designated wards of the state, are having medical research done on them that may not have any direct benefit whatsoever to the child and in Justina’s case she was made paralyzed by this medical research,” said Bachmann.
The teen hopes to testify before the entirety of congress in September.
Pelletier was in Massachusetts custody from February 2013 until June 2014.
The controversy began when doctors argued over her medical diagnosis and her parents were accused of “medical child abuse”.