A mother's federal lawsuit is set for trial in May against a child behavior services center in Mississippi claiming the center forcibly vaccinated her daughter against HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cancer.

In 2017, the then-15-year-old girl, a native of New York, ended up in the Canopy Children’s Solutions, the former Mississippi Children’s Home Services, in Saucier for inpatient psychiatric treatment, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit allegations include assault and battery, negligence and breach of standard of care, violation of the Mississippi Vulnerable Person Act and failure to supervise.

Gulfport attorney David Harris Jr., who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the mother and daughter, said the lawsuit isn't about the human papillomavirus vaccine debate.

"What concerns me the most is the wishes of the patient and mother were overlooked and completely disregarded," Harris said when the lawsuit was filed in 2017. The lawsuit was later amended.

Earlier this month, Canopy filed a motion asking a judge to dismiss much of the case including the claims for assault and battery, violation of Mississippi Vulnerable Persons Act, failure to supervise, intentional infliction of emotional distress and for punitive damages and attorneys' fees.

Canopy said in the recently filed motion that the teen admits she didn't discuss the HPV vaccine in particular with any of the defendants and didn't know she was scheduled to receive it until immediately before the injection, when the administering nurse at the Harrison County Health Department informed her about it.

"Although B.L.G. was upset about having to go to the Health Department, she eventually decided to go to her appointment," Canopy's attorney Michael McCabe Jr. said in the motion. "She has admitted that none of defendants physically forced her to be injected with the HPV vaccine."

During the admission process on Feb. 2, 2017, the teen’s mother was requested to provide consent for her daughter to receive immunization injections, but she refused the request, according to the lawsuit.

The mother said she specifically refused to provide consent for her daughter to be injected with the HPV vaccine because of its associated side effects. The mother’s refusal was noted in her daughter’s medical records by a nurse, according to the lawsuit.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the HPV vaccine is safe and effective. It is recommended for all boys and girls ages 11 and 12. Catch-up vaccines are recommended for males through age 21 and females through age 26.

According to the lawsuit, the center’s notice of rights says a person has the right to refuse care, including medication use, to the extent of the law.

In March, 2017, 43 days after admission to the center, the case manager demanded the girl be vaccinated, although the girl informed staff she wasn’t to receive the injection, the lawsuit says.

It also says the case manager insisted and said the girl wouldn’t be allowed to otherwise see her family that upcoming weekend. The lawsuit says the girl became distraught and upset by the threat, physically resisting efforts to be taken by van to the Health Department to receive the vaccination.

“B.L.G. was crying, screaming, and physically resisting the staff of the defendants for two hours,” the lawsuit says. “B.L.G. requested that her mother be contacted to confirm that B.L.G. was not to receive such treatment.”

Based on information and belief, no attempt was made to contact the mother, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit said the defendants misled the Harrison County Health Department by saying the girl and her mother consented.

U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, who is presiding over the case, has not ruled on Canopy's motion.

More:Center admits teen given HPV vaccine against mother's wishes, but says no force used

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