Public Health Trust Of Dade County v. Wons

541 So.2d 96 (1989)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D entered P's hospital with dysfunctional uterine bleeding. D was informed that she needed a blood transfusion or she would, in all probability, die. D, a practicing Jehovah's Witness, and mother of two minor children declined the treatment on grounds that it violated her religious principles to receive blood from outside her own body. D was conscious and able to reach an informed decision concerning her treatment. P petitioned the circuit court to force D to undergo a blood transfusion. D's husband fully supported D's decision to refuse the treatment and that, in the unfortunate event she were to die, their two children would be cared for by family. The court granted the petition, ordering the hospital doctors to administer the blood transfusion while D was unconscious. The trial judge reasoned that minor children have a right to be reared by two loving parents, a right which overrides the mother's rights of free religious exercise and privacy. D regained consciousness and appealed and the court reversed the order. P appealed.