No court order was sought in Lenae Martinez’s case: a hospital ethics committee at Valley Children’s Hospital in Fresno, including a professor of ethics from Fresno State University, treated her as a mature minor, and she died at 6:30 a.m. on 22 September 1993.
Claim ID claim-blood-1994-martinez-no-courtConcerns 22 September 1993Explicit statement
No court order was sought in Lenae Martinez’s case: a hospital ethics committee at Valley Children’s Hospital in Fresno, including a professor of ethics from Fresno State University, treated her as a mature minor, and she died at 6:30 a.m. on 22 September 1993. Source: Awake!, 22 May 1994Source: Awake!, 22 May 1994
The organisation’s position or later explanation: The article records that her parents and friends were ‘deeply grateful’ that the hospital had discerned her maturity and that no court case was necessary.
22 May 1994 · p.10 · par. 18 · Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
“This committee, made up of doctors and other health-care professionals, along with a professor of ethics from Fresno State University, made the decision to allow Lenae to make her own decisions with regard to her medical treatment. They considered Lenae a mature minor. No court order was sought.”
The article records that the hospital’s ethics committee, not a court, decided that Lenae was a mature minor. Hers is the only one of the four accounts in this article in which no court became involved.
Provenance and verification note for Awake!, Youths Who Have “Power Beyond What Is Normal”
Confidence note. Opened on the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and the wording, page marker and paragraph confirmed against the article text.
22 May 1994 · p.10 · pars. 19-20 · Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.
“After a long, difficult night, at 6:30 a.m., September 22, 1993, Lenae fell asleep in death in the arms of her mother. … There were 482 who attended the memorial service, including doctors, nurses, and teachers, who had been impressed by Lenae’s faith and integrity.”
The article gives the date and hour of death and the attendance at the memorial service, and adds that her parents and friends were ‘deeply grateful’ that no court case had been necessary.
Provenance and verification note for Awake!, Youths Who Have “Power Beyond What Is Normal”
Confidence note. Opened on the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and the wording, page marker and paragraph confirmed against the article text.
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