VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 12 : A 14-year-old Canadian girl whose religious beliefs include refusing blood transfusions may fight a court decision forcing her to accept such treatments.A British Columbia Supreme Court justice ruled that a provincial court judge had the power to force the girl, who suffers from cancer, to receive emergency blood transfusions, the Vancouver Province said Tuesday.
But the girl’s lawyer, Shane Brady, said the girl’s family is “disappointed” and is considering taking the case to the British Columbia Court of Appeal.
“The family is disappointed because their position has been, all along, that once the court has found that she is as capable as you and I, that young woman should make the decision,” said Brady.
The girl was diagnosed in December with a cancerous tumor on her right leg, which was removed, and then she began chemotherapy.
Brady said the teenager believes blood transfusions are a “violation of the biblical command to abstain from blood. The decision is based on her religious conscience.”