Court orders life-saving transfusion – The Irish Times – Wed, Jan 12, 2011
Court orders life-saving transfusion
MARY CAROLAN
A life-saving blood transfusion was administered to a critically ill baby under a court order secured by a Dublin hospital at a late night court hearing in a High Court judge’s home after the child’s parents, members of the Jehovah Witness faith, objected on religious grounds to the procedure, it has emerged.
The baby boy, who became very unwell on Christmas Day and whose condition continued to deteriorate, received the transfusion shortly after a hearing which concluded at 2.30am on December 27th in Mr Justice Gerard Hogan’s home, the judge revealed today.
The decision is Temple Street v D [2011] IEHC 1 (12 January 2011):
35. There is thus no doubt at all but that parents have the constitutional right to raise their children by reference to their own religious and philosophical views. But, as Article 42.5 [of the Constitution] makes clear, that right is not absolute. The State has a vital interest in ensuring that children are protected, so that a new cohort of well-rounded, healthy and educated citizens can come to maturity and are thus given every opportunity to develop in life.