A New Zealand court has assumed guardianship of a four-month-old baby, finding that his parents were acting improperly by blocking emergency surgery because they were wary that their child could receive blood from donors who had been vaccinated against COVID-19.
The baby, who suffers from a heart condition, remains in an Auckland hospital. Faced with the parents’ misgivings about the urgently needed treatment, the health services sought the intervention of the courts, which have finally ruled against the family.
Thus, they have considered that the State is the one who has to take care of the child with immediate effect and until the end of not only the operation, but also the postoperative period. It does stipulate that the parents must be informed at all times of their child’s medical progress, according to New Zealand Public Television.
The lawyer for the public health agency has insisted that the baby’s «survival» depends on this measure and pointed out that the parents’ criterion goes totally against the opinion of the professionals. He also pointed out that the mother had agreed to the use of the blood bank for another previous surgery.
However, the family’s lawyer called for not playing «blood roulette» again and defended the fact that the parents had gathered around thirty donors who had not received the vaccine against COVID-19 and who offered to collaborate in the operation. About 200 people gathered outside the courthouse to give their support to the parents.
