Jahi McMath has been kept in New Jersey since 2014 because the state has a religious exemption for those who object to allowing 'brain dead' patients to die without all possible treatment.
The mother of the California girl who has been cared for in New Jersey after being declared brain dead more than two years ago has filed a federal lawsuit to get her daughter's death certificate declared void.
Nailah Winkfield, the mother of Jahi McMath, filed a civil rights complaint in California's Northern District last month, arguing that McMath has some brain activity, which would contradict a "brain death" diagnosis.
Winkfield wants to move back to her home in Oakland, Calif., but fears that with the state recognizing the death certificate, McMath would not be able to receive ongoing medical care there.
McMath went into cardiac arrest in 2013 following what was supposed to be a routine tonsillectomy at Children's Hospital in Oakland. Hospital officials said she sustained massive, irreversible brain injuries as a result of the cardiac arrest and declared her brain dead.
Citing their Christian faith, the family fought to keep McMath from being disconnected from life-sustaining equipment, the lawsuit says. They moved her to New Jersey in 2014 because the state has a religious exemption for those who object to terminating medical support based on a brain death diagnosis.
Family of 'brain dead' girl remain in New Jersey -- 'the place where they can't kill her'
According to the suit, McMath can move a finger on her mother's command. It also says that since she came to New Jersey, McMath, now 15, began to get her menstrual period and her breasts developed.
The maturation of her body, the suit said, could only have happened with a functioning hypothalamus, the portion of the brain that regulates the release of hormones.
Aside from her brain injury, McMath "is in excellent health with no skin or organ breakdown," the lawsuit said. She receives "minimal in-home support."
Dr. Alieta Eck, McMath's primary care physician from Franklin Township and a former candidate for Congress, was among five medical professionals to sign affidavits saying McMath did not meet the threshold for brain death, the lawsuit says.
With the affidavits in hand, the family last year began asking officials in Alameda County, where McMath lived, to change the death certificate that had been issued on Dec. 12, 2013.
Beginning in May, the lawsuit says the family tried to get a number of county officials to address their issues until Oct. 9, when a lawyer for Alameda County said they had no basis to change or nullify the death certificate.
The suit says McMath's civil rights were violated, including her right to due process, the right to exercise her religion and her right to privacy. The suit also says officials violated the federal Rehabilitation Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act.
A spokesman for the California state Department of Public Health said it does not comment on ongoing cases. Alameda County officials did not comment.
Tim Darragh may be reached at tdarragh@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @timdarragh. Find NJ.com on Facebook.