Patricia Wen's story in the Boston Globe about the politicization of the Haleigh Poutre case is a compelling one, reminding readers how unjust, stubborn, counter-productive and even cruel government bureaucrats can be.Haleigh Poutre, the center of one of the nation's most passionate end-of-life cases, has been at an acute rehabilitation hospital in Brighton 12 times longer than the typical patient, prompting some child advocates to question whether the state is allowing political and legal factors to delay placing her in a permanent home.
They say the Department of Social Services, which has custody of the girl despite repeated missteps in her care, might be more interested in keeping her in a cloistered, controlled environment to avoid publicity and minimize risk, rather than helping her develop bonds with a new adoptive family. Some families have offered to bring Haleigh into their homes. The 14-year-old child abuse victim has been at Franciscan Hospital for Children for more than two years; the typical patient stays about two months.
"It's bad to be in a hospital forever," said Maureen Flatley, a child welfare and adoption specialist who was not directly involved in the case.
Flatley said DSS cannot be entirely trusted to act in Haleigh's best interests, given its lengthy history of missing overt signs of the girl's repeated abuse in her Westfield home and then its aggressive effort to withdraw life support when she clearly, in hindsight, still had life in her. She said "it's allowing the fox to guard the henhouse."...
Here's the rest of this provocative report while over here at the Boston Herald is a Jessica Fargen story with more details of Haleigh's escape from the state's plans to "euthanize" her and how she has now recovered enough to quite possibly testify against her assailant.
