Vernon Girl May Appeal Ruling

A Vernon teenager being treated for cancer may decide early next week whether to appeal a court decision in Ontario that prohibits her from refusing blood transfusions that would violate her faith as a Jehovah's Witness.

The girl's lawyer, Shane Brady, said the family is trying to decide whether to appeal the Superior Court ruling that ordered the 14-year-old girl, who cannot be named, back to her home province of B.C. for treatment.

On Friday, Brady and Jeremy Berland, assistant deputy minister of children and family development for B.C., disagreed over what transpired at a court hearing on Tuesday in Toronto.

The Ontario judge said he did not find any fault with Justice Mary Boyd of the B.C. Supreme Court who ruled April 11 that the girl, because she is a minor, could not refuse transfusions if doctors deem them medically necessary.

The girl's lawyer said his client wanted to get the Ontario court to consider the evidence of Schneider Children's Hospital in New York, which has experience in treating cancer like the girl's without using blood transfusions.