The Blood Transfusion Wardship Cases -- Balancing the Competing Interests in a Free and Democratic Society
In: New Zealand Law Review, Jg. 2002 (2002), S. 475
Online
academicJournal
Public controversy often surrounds those blood transfusion cases where the state seeks to render a child a ward of the court. Media coverage of these cases invariably captures the highly charged emotions that the litigation generates. Such an emotional reaction is not surprising, given that the medical slogan "Blood Transfusions Save Lives" is constantly illuminated before the public eye. As with any slogan that is inculcated into the public mind, after a while many persons no longer require proof to support it. Any parent who, as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, dares to challenge the efficacy of the medical use of blood becomes an easy target for the scorn of public opinion. The speedy use of the state's enforcement powers in these cases is applauded by the majority as a benevolent act to "save" the child from his religiously unorthodox parents. In a free and democratic society, judicial objectivity must not be sacrificed to conform to the emotional vicissitudes of public opinion. The blood transfusion wardship cases are thus a real test of integrity for the courts. These cases raise all of the important legal principles that are applicable to state intervention in parental health-care decisions, and provide proof of the strength of those principles. In a Bill of Rights context, the cases raise profound issues for determination. They test the substance of the parental rights to freedom of conscience and religion, and the extent to which the court will act as the constitutional guardian of minority rights. Given ...
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The Blood Transfusion Wardship Cases -- Balancing the Competing Interests in a Free and Democratic Society
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Autor/in / Beteiligte Person: | Cathcart, Warren P |
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Zeitschrift: | New Zealand Law Review, Jg. 2002 (2002), S. 475 |
Veröffentlichung: | 2002 |
Medientyp: | academicJournal |
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