The New Zealand parents who refused to allow blood transfusions for their sick 4-month-old child unless they came from donors unvaccinated against COVID-19 have been temporarily stripped of medical custody of the baby.
New Zealand’s High Court on Wednesday ordered that the infant, identified in documents only as Baby W, be placed into the guardianship of health authorities until after he undergoes an urgently needed open-heart surgery and recovers.
The boy’s parents remain his primary guardians and are still in charge of decisions about their boy that don’t relate to the medical procedure, according to the court ruling.
The parents’ legal battle has been taken up by anti-vax activists, who gathered outside the courtroom this week as evidence was presented.
High Court Judge Ian Gault said he accepted the affidavits of health experts who said there have been millions of blood transfusions performed around the world since COVID vaccines were introduced, and the vaccines hadn’t caused any known harmful effects.
Citing evidence from New Zealand’s chief medical officer, the judge ruled that there was “no scientific evidence there is any Covid-19 vaccine-related risk from blood donated” by vaccinated donors.
The ruling will likely set a precedent and come as a relief to health care groups that collect and use donated blood.
Baby W’s parents had said they had unvaccinated donors willing to give blood for their son’s surgery, but health officials argued that such directed donations should only occur in exceptional circumstances, such as for recipients with very rare blood types.
Health authorities also said the unvaccinated donors wouldn’t necessarily give them access to all the blood products they might need during the boy’s surgery.
The parents used discredited arguments and fringe theories to try to show that mRNA vaccines were unsafe.
The judge said the baby’s parents were loving and wanted the best for their son and accepted that he needed the surgery.
The judge also noted the relationship between the parents and doctors had suffered and that they should try to improve it before and after the surgery and be respectful of each other.
Doctors will be required to keep the parents informed at all times about their son’s treatment and condition, BBC News reported.
Court rules prevent the baby and parents from being named. Court documents identified the mother as a midwife.
In an interview with anti-vax campaigner Liz Gunn published last month, the baby’s father talked about his concerns surrounding his son’s surgery to treat severe pulmonary valve stenosis.
“We don’t want blood that is tainted by vaccination,” the dad said. “That’s the end of the deal — we are fine with anything else these doctors want to do.”
With Post wires