Nov 13, 2008 / 15:33 pm
Dr. Luis Raez, expert in bioethics and professor at the Hematology and Oncology Clinic at the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, has warned that the case of Hannah Jones, a 13 year-old British girl who decided not to undergo a heart transplant, sets a precedent that is “very dangerous and could be used legally to promote euthanasia.”
The Case
According to the British press, Hannah’s chances of surviving the operation are minimal. A battle with leukemia left her heart extremely weak and it is currently functioning at only 10 percent of normal capacity. She has already undergone several surgeries.
Hannah explained that her treatments have exhausted her and that taking medicines constantly has been very difficult. “I don’t like to be like this but I live with it,” she said. For these and other reasons she decided to refuse the transplant, without which doctors have said she has only six months to live.
In response to her refusal, administrators at the Herefordshire Primary Care Trust in Hereford, England decided to seek temporary custody of the child in order to “force” her to undergo the surgery. However, after several court hearings and a report from a child protection officer, the hospital withdrew its legal action.