newjerseynewsroom.com

BY SALVATORE PIZZURO

COMMENTARY

Apparently the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the Unites States do not apply to a segment of our population in New Jersey. The Eight Amendment clearly protects us from Cruel and Unusual Punishment, and the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees our right to Due Process. Interestingly, the Fourteenth Amendment was born out of the Dred Scott controversy, and his right to be free from slavery, and the infringement of the independent decision making process that accompanies citizenship.

The United States ruled in O'Connor v. Donaldson {422 U.S. 563 (1975)} that a patient could not be involuntarily subjected to medical treatment, including hospitalization. The case applied to psychiatric patients, but the ruling was eventually extended to all patients, including those with developmental disabilities. As a result of O’Connor v. Donaldson, the right of refusal was later expanded to the administration of medication, as well. Rennie v. Klein {462 F. Supp. 1131 (D.N.J. 1978)} is a New Jersey case that recognized the right of all residential patients to refuse such medication.

The United States Supreme Court ruled in Youngberg v. Romeo {457 U.S. 307(1982)}, that people with mental retardation who are committed to residential institutions have a “right to reasonably safe confinement conditions, no unreasonable body restraints and the habilitation they reasonably require.”

Unfortunately, the basic civil, human and due process rights that the public at large enjoys is often denied to people with developmental disabilities.

The issue of abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with developmental disabilities in residential care has received an inordinate amount of attention by the media in recent months. Statistics on the enormity of the problem vary, with conflicting numbers complicating the problem. One estimate is that over the last five years, there were 35,000 thousand cases of abuse and 1,000 deaths.

Both houses of the State Legislature have held hearings on the subject, pursuant to passing “Tara’s Law,” a bill that would provide protections for such individuals in community care residences (group homes). As this writer has pointed out, the bill excluded developmentally disabled residents in the larger developmental centers, group homes, nursing, homes, supervised apartments, and day training centers. A separate bill was suggested by members of the State Legislature, with the hope that new cases of abuse would not appear as the legislative process unfolded.

Now, it has been reported by news sources that a doctor and nurse at the Hunterdon Developmental Center have illegally forced the residents to be guinea pigs in dangerous experiments, without notifying or receiving permission from their families. Furthermore, the Hunterdon Developmental Center requires researchers to submit a request to conduct such research. No such request was submitted, nor was permission given by the developmental center to conduct a study.

The disabled residents received large doses of Vitamin D and Calcium, which medical practitioners indicate is medically dangerous and can cause serious harm. In addition, it has been reported that witnesses to the illegal experiments have suggested to reporters that they are in fear of retaliation by the developmental center for revealing the truth.

One of the reported medical reactions to mega-doses of Vitamin D and Calcium is kidney and tissue damage. Furthermore, the residents were subjected to sedation during the experiments, once again without the permission of the developmental center or the families.