A Quebec coroner says everyone has the right to refuse a blood transfusion, even if it means imminent death.
Luc Malouin made the comment in his report into the deaths of two Jehovah’s Witnesses who died shortly after giving birth in October 2016.
READ MORE: Jehovah’s Witness who died after childbirth remembered in Laval
One of the women died in hospital near Quebec City after repeatedly refusing a blood transfusion, in accordance with the law allowing patients to make their own choices and assume the consequences.
In her case, doctors and medical staff informed her numerous times the transfusion was needed to save her, but the woman and her family refused.
Another woman in Montreal did receive a blood transfusion after her husband eventually consented, but Malouin concluded it was unclear if a delay in the procedure led to her death.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe ingesting blood goes against their beliefs and that they should not accept transfusions or donate their own blood.
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