Gov't gives infants blood transfusions over objections of religious parents

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canada's first birth of sextuplets has become a battle of church versus state over medical care for the surviving children.

The British Columbia government forced blood transfusions for two of the four surviving premature babies last week despite the objections of the babies' parents, who are members of the Jehovah's Witness faith and believe the Bible prohibits transfusions.

Gordon Campbell, premier of the province of British Columbia, defended the intervention, saying that while Canada protects religious freedom it also has an obligation to protect children's lives.

"We act, I think, with the children's best interest in mind, and we will continue to do that," Campbell told reporters on Thursday, a day after news of the government's intervention became public.

The sextuplets, four boys and two girls, were born in Vancouver in early January. The babies were delivered prematurely after only 25 weeks gestation, and two of the infants have since died.

Medical officials say premature babies often need blood transfusions as part of their early care, and British Columbia officials intervened to seize custody of three of the children last week after the two deaths.

A court has blocked publication of the family's name.

The parents, who have regained custody of the children, have asked the court to block future transfusions. They have also charged that the province's intervention violates their constitutional rights.

The children's father complained in a court document that because the parents wanted to use medical alternatives to blood transfusions "we have been stripped of our parental rights and have been labeled unfit."

The family's lawyer, who has represented Jehovah's Witnesses in other medical cases, alleges the province of British Columbia violated a 1995 Canadian Supreme Court decision that requires parents be given a fair hearing before intervention.

A court hearing on the family's complaint is scheduled for February 22.
The Canadian Medical Association does not have a policy dealing with blood transfusions for infants who object to the practice, said Jeff Blackmer, executive director of the group's ethics office.

But Blackmer said a doctor's first responsibility is to the patient. In the case of newborns who cannot make their own decision, the doctor may ask for intervention if it appears the parents are not acting in the child's best interest.

"This action is not taken lightly, but is often a last resort when the physician feels the patient is at risk of imminent harm," Blackmer wrote in an e-mail.