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In court documents, the girl described how a transfusion would contravene her religious beliefs.

"It's no different than somebody getting sexually assaulted or raped or robbed or something," she said. "You'd feel violated because it's not anybody else's property, it's you."

Lawyers for the girl fought the case on the grounds the girl was not represented by legal counsel and that she was a "mature minor," capable of deciding her own treatment. They also said the girl's Charter rights were infringed by provincial law and she had suffered age discrimination.

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Personally I think they should have respected her choice.

[ 19 May 2005: Message edited by: Anchoress ]

However, the Jehovah's Witnesses are essentially a cult, and engage in cult-like suppression of individual thought. I don't think it would be going to far to say that this person is brainwashed.

In any case, if the she and her family choose to appeal this, past cases have typically come down on the side of the 'mature minor'.

[ 12 April 2005: Message edited by: Amy ]

Amy, in the last case of this kind that I can remember the doctors and the courts didn't give up, actually, until the illness had progressed so far that they recognized no treatment was going to work. Then and only then did they free the boy to seek the alternative therapy he believed in -- which of course did not save him.

Most of the legal cases that I remember I was exposed to through a course that I took in the fall, and although I don't remember that case in particular, it sounds horrible. Morally-speaking, it is hard enough to make the case for a solidly established procedure, but a iffy-at-best one? Especially when it was showing no signs of helping, there is absolutely no justification for that.

I find it really hard to refer to other instances that seem similar when thinking about issues like this, because each case really is different. Each case rests on the competence of the individual, which rests on all sorts of things including maturity and coercion (even subconscious coercion) from the family.

Edited to add: It's especially hard to think about because in theory I really do agree that anyone who isn't 'parroting' should be able to make their own medical decisions. But sometimes it isn't that simple.

[ 12 April 2005: Message edited by: Amy ]

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The bitter fight over a blood transfusion for a 14-year-old Jehovah's Witness Okanagan girl is heading to a Toronto courtroom.

The girl has gone into hiding with her family in Ontario to avoid blood transfusions that a B.C. court ordered should be given if medically necessary.

Jeremy Berland, B.C.'s director of child welfare, will apply to the courts to authorize the "safety net" of transfusions if needed in her cancer treatment.

Berland is scheduled to appear in Ontario Superior Court tomorrow to force the girl to have the treatment, including blood transfusions, if required.

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One thing that always makes me nervous in cases like this is that is she didn't fight against the transfusion, what kind of emotional problems would she have to face from her family and community?

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Originally posted by No Yards:
The consensus on the dark side seems to be that she should be allowed make her own decision and die for her religion

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But what I'm wondering is--WHY??
Especially in places like Canada where the blood supply is the result of acts of charity. Even if for weird doctrinal reasons you don't think it will work, or should work, or something. So? That doesn't make it a bad thing to accept. So you think the doctors trying to help you are misguided fools, so what? They're trying to help, why not just let them do their thing, and point out that while you believe none of this will make any difference as only God's grace can really heal us, you appreciate the sentiment.

Re the blood transfusion issue: she explained that the Bible is quite clear that people are prohibited from consuming the flesh of other people. Receiving a blood transfusion is akin to consuming the flesh of another person and so is a big no no. Receiving medical treatment, however, is not prohibited and she is able to consult a wide array of medical personnel over her numerous health problems.

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VANCOUVER (CP) -- A British Columbia teenager being treated for cancer and in a legal battle due to her Jehovah's Witness beliefs has been transferred to a hospital in New York City for chemotherapy treatment.

In a statement issued Wednesday, her lawyer, Shane Brady, said the girl was transferred to Schneider Children's Hospital from Children's Hospital in Vancouver.

The transfer came after a B.C. Supreme Court ruling Tuesday that allowed the transfer based on an agreement reached between the director of child, family and community service, the teenager and her parents.

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The New York hospital has a "blood avoidance program" aimed at avoiding or minimizing the use of blood in treating their patients.

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[ 19 May 2005: Message edited by: Anchoress ]

[ 19 May 2005: Message edited by: Bobolink ]

Jehovah Witness Bogus Blood Transfusion Ban.Why they let Children Die.Children sacrificed,even Animals don't Eat their Young.

Why Jehovah's Witnesses Reject Blood Transfusions.

Jehovah's Witnesses have a non negotiable tenet of their belief system to reject Blood products.

The origin of this dogma comes from their founding father Joseph Rutherford in the early 20th century.The consumption (eating) of blood was strictly forbidden under old testament law.The Watchtower leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses saw fit to extend this prohibition over to their belief system.

They thought that the "end of the world" was coming back then (ca.1940),so,there would never be much of a body count causality.

It is well into the 21st century,with the "end of the world" on hold,the Watchtower leaders have blood on their hands,with the deaths of innocent countless minor children.How would they account for this body count, if they repealed the 'no blood ban' now?

More importantly, to them,the Watchtower parent corporation of Jehovah's Witnesses would be sued,for mega-bucks,for all the wrongful death lawsuits.

Many children have died since rejecting life saving blood transfusions. Why do they maintain adherence to this archaic creed at all cost?Because the Watchtower fairy follows the money trail,and will do anything for a buck.

Hello!What about all the dead Kids?Even wild Animals don't eat their young.

Watchtower leadership REPEAL THE BOGUS BLOOD BAN NOW!

Some educational links provided below:

http://www.ajwrb.org/

http://www.towertotruth.net/Articles/blood_transfusions.htm

http://www.dannyhaszard.com/cultvideos.htm

I don't welcome the pests at my front door either. But hey guys, they suffered enough during the Holocaust years. Our parents and grandfathers fought for their rights, too.

[ 04 June 2005: Message edited by: Fidel ]

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I don't welcome the pests at my front door either. But hey guys, they suffered enough during the Holocaust years.

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They wore the purple triangle, I believe.

They took some shit in Canada, too. I recommend a google search on Roncarelli vs. Duplessis.

Actually, I have a lot of resepct for the JWs. Yeah, their beliefs are hidebound and ludicrous, but apart from knocking on our doors, they don't do much to force their creed on anyone, and they certainly do stand up for what they believe, often in the face of public ridicule.

In Korea, JWs are routinely jailed for refusing military service. They've appealed this to the high courts, but to no avail. A student of mine told me that when he did his army service, he saw a JW court-martialed. The JW was standing in front of a judge, and there was a gun on display. The judge ordered the JW to pick up the gun, and when the defendant refused the judge ordered him again. After several rounds of this, the judge sentenced the JW to a prison term.

Another student of mine WAS a JW. When I asked him what he planned to do when it came time for military service, he replied quite matter-of-factly "oh, I am going to go to jail". He said that he had talked to some co-religionists who had done time, and they told him that it wasn't so bad behind bars. Maybe, but I've also read in the papers about JWs getting beaten up in military prison.

It's also the case that in the US, JWs are usually the people who file lawsuits against having to say the Pledge Of Allegiance in schools.

All this said, I'm not sure if a 14 year old should be considered mature enough to choose a course of action that will result in her own death. No problem with adults refusing transfusions.

[ 04 June 2005: Message edited by: voice of the damned ]

[ 04 June 2005: Message edited by: voice of the damned ]

[ 04 June 2005: Message edited by: voice of the damned ]

[ 04 June 2005: Message edited by: voice of the damned ]

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Going abstract for just a second--there's a couple of groups who won't take transfusions, right? JW, Christian Science, any others?

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Christian Scientists are supposed to avoid all medical treatment, not just blood transfusions. But I don't think they're as strict about this as the JWs are about blood. I think you can get medical treatment without being ex-communicated.

I'm on the side of letting her make her own decision. Everyone dies sooner or later; if she can find peace and dignity doing it her way then the courts have no business getting involved. When did our society become so afraid of death?