The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled against Spain on Tuesday in a case involving a Jehovah’s Witness who received blood transfusions against her will during an operation.
The Strasbourg court unanimously found that there had been “a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights, read in the light of Article 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion)”, the ECtHR said in a statement.
The court ordered Spain to pay 26,000 euros in damages and legal costs.
The case involved blood transfusions administered to Rosa Edelmira Pindo Mulla, an Ecuadorian citizen living in Spain, during emergency surgery against her will.
“As the situation was considered an emergency, the usual hospital consent protocol was not followed,” the court said.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that receiving blood is contrary to God’s will and therefore refuse blood transfusions.
In March 2020, she filed an application with the ECtHR, which rules on violations of the European Convention on Human Rights in the 46 member states of the Council of Europe.
“Pindo Mulla has not been able to exercise her autonomy to adhere to an important tenet of her religion,” the statement said.
In a statement to AFP, the 53-year-old said she was “very happy that justice has been done” and expressed hope that the ruling “will ensure that other people’s rights are respected in the future.”
One of her lawyers, Petr Muzny, said the court ruling would “put an end to a number of exceptions applied in certain countries, including France.”
“France was still a country where, in certain cases, it was still possible to force a patient. But that is over now,” he added.
At a hearing in January, Muzny insisted his client had been the victim of “medical paternalism,” despite repeatedly stating she wanted to be “treated in accordance with her conscience.”
Heide-Elena Nicolas Martinez, a lawyer representing Spain, stressed that the decision to give Pindo Mulla blood transfusions was taken with “great urgency”.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are members of a Christian evangelical movement headquartered in the United States. The movement claims to have over 8.6 million followers worldwide, from Finland to the Falkland Islands and from Peru to the Philippines.
The Witnesses reject the modern theory of evolution and also oppose blood transfusions, believing that blood is sacred.
The Witnesses have pressured physicians to adopt clinical strategies that minimize the need for blood transfusions.
pau-as/sjw/yad