AFR News: Parental Rights- How Can We Help Justina Pelletier?

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March 6, 2014

How Can We Help Justina Pelletier?

The tragic case of Justina Pelletier has suddenly thrust the issue of parental rights into the national consciousness. But with all the attention, many of you are asking the same thing we were:

What can we do to help this family?

(If you aren’t already aware of this horrible case of government intrusion, read more about it here.)

We have been working to coordinate with lawmakers and other organizations to have the biggest possible impact for this family. We are already promoting both a general and a specific parental rights statute in the Massachusetts legislature. We also support the bipartisan resolution in the Massachusetts House that urges the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to return Justina to her parents’ care.

Below are ways you can help this family in these and other areas, plus ways to prevent similar cases in the future. Please look over the list carefully. I am confident there is something here that you can do!

1. Contact your state lawmakers and urge support for a parental rights statute. Don’t let the nightmare in Massachusetts come to your state! (To find contact info, do a web search for “legislature” plus the name of your state.)

2. Write a letter of encouragement to Justina through our friends at Liberty Counsel. If DCF won’t let her have them now, Liberty Counsel will hold them for her until she returns home. Mail to Justina Pelletier c/o Liberty Counsel, P.O. Box 540774 Orlando, FL 32754

3. Write another to her parents, Lou and Linda Pelletier. Liberty Counsel will have no trouble delivering these right away. Mail c/o Liberty Counsel at the address above.

4. Call your U.S. congressman and urge him or her to support HJRes 50, the Parental Rights Amendment. Find their contact info by clicking your state at parentalrights.org/states.

5. Make the most generous donation you can right now to continue our efforts to preserve parental rights for the Pelletiers and to prevent more cases like this in the future.

If you live in Connecticut or Massachusetts, in addition to the above you can:

1. Call your Massachusetts lawmakers and urge them to support the resolution of Reps. Lyons and Lombard that demands DCF return Justina to her parents’ care. OR

Call your Connecticut lawmakers and ask them to pass a resolution calling for Justina’s return to her home state. Why should they allow her to be held by Massachusetts without any showing of abuse or neglect on the part of her Connecticut parents?

2. Contact your governor and urge him to demand that Justina Pelletier be returned home immediately. (Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick)

Good news has already emerged as Justina’s medical care has been transferred back to Tufts Medical Center, removing Boston Children’s from the medical picture. Working together, we can see this girl returned to her parents’ care and, hopefully, returned to health as well. What’s more, we can stop her nightmare from playing out ever again.

Sincerely,

Michael Ramey
Director of Communications & Research

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