Blood battle lawsuit filed

Parents fought baby’s forced transfusion

Forcing a newborn Jehovah’s Witness to undergo a blood transfusion should cost the provincial government $50,000, a lawsuit claims.

A statement of claim, filed on behalf of the child and his Calgary parents, says the infant was seized illegally by Child Welfare.

The document, a copy of which was obtained yesterday by the Sun, alleges the couple was forced into a family court hearing without legal representation.

Child Welfare then used “inaccurate and misleading” medical information to get a temporary guardianship order which permitted the transfusion.

The young boy — who can’t be named under the Child Welfare Act — was seized two years ago, less than three weeks after he was born prematurely, weighing a scant two pounds, 10 ounces. When he developed a bowel infection, Dr. Doug McMillan recommended a blood transfusion, a procedure the parents felt was unnecessary and against their religious beliefs.

“They requested that Dr. McMillan consult with two other named expert neonatologists. Dr. McMillan declined,” the lawsuit, filed by lawyer Shane Brady says.

Brady was one of the lawyers in the Bethany Hughes case, the Calgary teen who died last year of leukemia after an failed court battle against transfusions for her cancer treatment.

The new lawsuit claims the parents were forced to appear in court Aug. 10, 2001 with an hour’s notice, preventing them from retaining counsel or arranging for an expert witness.

“Defendants violated (the) plaintiffs’ freedom of religion and conscience by requesting and permitting blood transfusions to be imposed on (the boy),” the lawsuit alleges.

Along with damages the court action seeks a declaration the family’s Charter rights were violated, including their religious freedom.

The action says the parents were willing to allow their son to undergo other procedures which didn’t involve transfusions.

“They accept standard medical treatment, but object to blood transfusions as a violation of the Biblical command … to ‘abstain from blood,’ ” it says.

The child, who has fully recovered, returned home to his parents’ care Sept. 27, 2001.

A statement of defence disputing the unproven allegations has not yet been filed.

Read Another Article

Volunteers from near and far help restore Church of Scientology’s new home
Court upholds conviction in ‘rebirthing’ death

Related News Articles Topic(s): Jehovah's Witnesses Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Jehovah's Witnesses Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog