From In re Child of Cassie S., decided by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court yesterday, in an opinion by Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill:
Cassie S. is the mother of a child with a complex medical history beginning when the child was about six months old. When the child was twenty-one months old, the mother persuaded the child's doctor to perform an invasive procedure—a tracheotomy—to attempt to cure cyanotic spells she had observed. According to the mother, the tracheostomy did not ameliorate the cyanosis, so the child's medical providers recommended its immediate removal. The mother, however, insisted that the child's tracheostomy become permanent.
In the years that followed, the mother took the child to various medical providers in Maine and other states, many of whom recommended the removal of the child's tracheostomy. The mother also reported to the child's doctor that the child was aspirating on liquids, and as a result, a gastrostomy tube was placed in the child's stomach.
Ultimately, the medical director of the child protection program at a Massachusetts medical center reported the mother to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. The medical director expressed concerns that the child had received inappropriate medical care at the urging of the mother. As a result, the Department petitioned for a protection order in 2019, although that petition was ultimately dismissed. Throughout the 2019 proceedings, the mother spoke to the press about the Department's efforts to remove the child from her care, resulting in published articles about the child's medical history and the mother's experience with the Department.
