He European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered Spain to pay 26,000 euros to a Jehovah’s Witness who received several blood transfusions. A decision that the sectarian group has celebrated as a “victory” that it hopes will lead to it being reinforced with greater support for patient autonomy. Something that is in line with this group’s strategy of taking to court the battles it is losing among public opinion.
Patient autonomy
“The ruling is a victory for those who value the right to make personal decisions about medical treatments. Sends a clear message that patient autonomy is a fundamental right “which must be respected,” said the spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses in Europe, Christian Di Blasio, according to Europa Press. The rejection of transfusions is a classic among co-religionists who make a literal interpretation of some passages of their biblical text.
From Spain, another of its spokespersons, David Báidez, also claims that “the desire of Spanish doctors to respect patient autonomy will be reinforced by this ruling by the European Court.”Jehovah’s Witnesses see life as a gift from God.. They seek the best medical treatments available and are willing to cooperate with medical professionals to find safe and effective alternatives to blood transfusions,” he says as justification for refusing this treatment.
The case that has come to Strasbourg dates back to July 2017 when a Jehovah’s Witness woman reported refusing transfusions to a hospital, something that was not respected in an operation carried out in June 2018, at the Hospital de Soria for internal bleeding that had caused severe anaemia, refusing the procedure again. When her condition worsened, she was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Madrid known for providing alternative treatments to blood transfusions. Due to the severity of the condition, an operation was requested. a judge on duty who He authorized all medical procedures necessary to save her life. She received three red cell transfusions, which she found out about when she was resuscitated after the operation. After the rejection of the Spanish courts, including the Constitutional Court, the ECHR has ruled in her favour.
New headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses
