A heated debate that started back in BC courts in April
has seemingly come to an end. The 14-year-old girl from
Vernon, in the Okanagan Valley, who originally refused
to have a blood transfusion because of her religious beliefs,
is back home and set to undergo treatment.
The girl — who cannot be identified
because of a publication ban — has bone cancer.
Earlier this year she had a cancerous tumour removed
from her leg, followed by three months of chemo. The
chemotherapy not only destroyed the cancer cells but
also affected normal cells that grow rapidly like red
blood cells. In many cases this prompts doctors to give
a patient a blood transfusion; a treatment the girl
refused because it goes against her beliefs as a Jehovah's
Witness.
This is where the BC government
stepped in. On April 11, a provincial Supreme Court
judge ordered her to receive transfusions, BC law states
that only those over 19 can refuse medical treatment.
The teen, with the support of her church and family,
appealed the Court ruling. Once again, BC courts ruled
against the teen, even though she testified that a blood
transfusion would be a violation of her person tantamount
to sexual assault. Nevertheless, the presiding judge
Madam Justice Mary Boyd said that the court ruling was
not a violation under the Charter of Rights and that
freedom of religion is not absolute. The girl was placed
under BC government guardianship to protect her right
to life.
COURT
HOPPING
The girl and her family fled BC after the second ruling.
They then met with doctors in Toronto at Sick Children's
Hospital to see if a treatment without transfusion could
be offered. Doctors there also said that they would
need the option of a transfusion if they were to treat
her.
Meanwhile, BC officials got word
that the teen was in Ontario and obtained a ruling to
put her in sole custody of the provincial child welfare
and a separate ruling that would let police apprehend
her.
The teen then appealed to the Ontario
Supreme Court to have all the BC rulings revoked —
including the treatment ruling. Earlier this month,
Ontario Supreme Court Judge Victor Paisley ordered the
teen to comply with the BC Court decision. Police apprehended
her on her way out of the courtroom.
The case has reopened the debate
of the age of consent for medical treatment. Last year
saw a similar case in Alberta involving a 16-year-old
Jehovah's Witness girl stricken with leukemia. This
patient also refused a blood transfusion. The girl's
father broke with his church and family and fought a
lengthy court battle to compel the girl to receive the
treatment. The father prevailed and the girl did receive
blood transfusions, but sadly it didn't prevent her
dying from leukemia. For more on this issue see the
editorial "Capacity, not
age, should drive consent".
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