The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal has issued an interesting new decision. It is the type of decision in which the simple headline might cause certain reactions, and so a more in depth look at the facts of the case is important.
A father applied to a court for an order that his 12 year old daughter be vaccinated against Covid 19. Both the daughter and her mother were opposed. The lower court issued an order that the child be vaccinated, and the mother appealed that decision.
The Court of Appeal noted that the physical risks to the child from Covid, who is type 1 diabetic, were outweighed by the vaccine's benefits. The vaccine is safe and effective. The child's physical safety would be served by being vaccinated. Father filed a great deal of medical information supporting the safety of the vaccine and the risks of community transmission. The courts accepted that evidence.
However, the test for the court in a case involving medical decisions for children is what is in the "best interests" of the child. Applying that test requires a close look at the particular child. She had become so adverse to getting the vaccine that there was a risk that she would self-harm if faced what she saw as a threat of bodily harm. There was evidence of previous self-harm behaviour after conflict with her father.
In addition, the court had evidence of the risk to the child's mental health and damage to her relationship with her father if she was vaccinated against her, and her mother's, wishes.
The Court of Appeal said:
In this case, the child’s relationship with her father is already fraught. The evidence is such that if the child is to be vaccinated at the father’s insistence, it will damage that relationship further. That can be said with near certainty. The court must also weigh the possibility, if not the probability, that it will destroy the relationship completely, if not irretrievably, if the father forces a vaccination on the child. An order which might damage an already tenuous relationship with a parent presents a real risk of causing the very harm that orders made pursuant to the Divorce Act are meant to avoid.
The whole case can be read at:
https://canlii.ca/t/jtw9t
Comments
Post a Comment