The Connecticut Supreme Court will decide whether state officials were right to force a 17-year-old girl to undergo chemotherapy against her and her mother's wishes.
Justices will hear arguments Thursday in the case of the girl known in court documents only as Cassandra C. Court documents say she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in September and didn't want treatment, a decision her mother supported.
A trial court judge in November granted temporary custody of Cassandra to the state Department of Children and Families, which has forced the girl to undergo what officials call life-saving chemotherapy.
Cassandra's public defender said she should be allowed to make decisions about her body under the "mature minor doctrine" recognized by other states. State officials said they have a responsibility to protect Cassandra's life.
