Criminal responsibility of parents Jehovah's Witnesses for refusing medical treatment to children and adolescents

Abstract

This study examines the decision of the Sixth Chamber on Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (SCJ) in Habeas Corpus 268.459/SP, issued on September 2, 2014, which discussed the criminal responsibility of parents for refusing a blood transfusion to a minor patient. The methodology used was of the documentary-bibliographic type, with pure research of qualitative, descriptive and exploratory approach. The aforementioned habeas corpus addresses the case of a thirteen-year-old girl who was admitted to the hospital due to a serious health condition caused by sickle cell anemia. The patient's clinical condition urgently required blood transfusion to safeguard her life. However, her parents, due to their belief in Jehovah's Witness cult, signed a declaration that refused such treatment, thus leading to the girl’s death. This fact gave rise to a judicial precedent in the SCJ, allowing doctors to conduct blood transfusions whenever minor patients are in imminent danger of death, regardless of the religious choice of their legal representatives. It is concluded that the Habeas Corpus case is marked by a collision between the right to life of the child and the adolescent and the right to freedom of conscience and belief of the parents, which was considered by the Sixth Chamber of the SCJ.