A New Zealand court has temporarily withdrawn medical custody of a child from his parents after the parents refused blood transfusions for the child unless the blood came from unvaccinated donors against COVID-19.
The ruling will place the 4-month-old baby in the custody of the authorities until he undergoes urgent heart surgery and recovers. Parents will remain responsible for decisions about their child that are not related to the operation.
The parents’ legal battle is supported by anti-vaccine groups, who gathered outside the courtroom this week to present evidence.
High Court Judge Ian Gault said he accepted statements from health experts who said millions of blood transfusions had been given worldwide since coronavirus vaccines were introduced and vaccines have not caused known harmful effects.
The ruling will likely set a precedent and come as a relief to health care groups.
The parents said they had unvaccinated donors willing to donate blood for their son’s surgery, but health authorities said such direct donations should only take place in exceptional circumstances, such as for recipients with very rare blood types.
Health authorities also said unvaccinated donors would not necessarily give them access to all the blood products they might need during the baby’s surgery.
Parents used discredited arguments and fringe theories to try to prove that vaccines weren’t safe.
The judge said the boy’s parents were loving and wanted the best for their son and accepted that he needed surgery. The judge indicated that the relationship between the parents and the doctors was damaged and they should be respectful of each other.
Court rules prevent the disclosure of the names of the parents and the child.
