A Jehova’s Witness has taken the country of Spain to the European Court of Human Rights for administering her a blood transfusion during surgery against her will.
Rosa Edelmira Pindo Mulla, an Ecuadorian woman living in Spain, claims to be a victim of “medical paternalism”, due to her nationality and religion. In 2017, following a series of medical examinations, the 53-year-old woman was advised to undergo surgery. In 2018, before the procedure, Pindo Mulla was presented with three documents to fill out – an advance directive, a long-term power of attorney, and an informed consent form. She claims to have specifically mentioned in all three that she was a Jehova’s Witness and that she refused to receive any kind of blood transfusion (blood, red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets or plasma), even at the cost of her own life. After suffering a life-threatening hemorrhage during surgery, she received a blood transfusion, and she has been seeking justice ever since…
