NZ baby removed from parents despite willing volunteer donors
A baby boy has been removed from his parents in New Zealand after they refused to allow the child to have heart surgery using blood from donors who had been injected with the Covid-19 vaccine.
The Auckland High Court ordered the six-month-old baby to be placed in temporary custody so that an operation to correct a heart disorder could go ahead.
Health authorities said the parents' pleas for unvaccinated blood to be used in the operation were impractical and unnecessary despite willing unvaccinated donors wanting to help.
The boyâs parents said they had dozens of non-vaccinated donors willing to give blood for their sonâs surgery.
"The overriding issue is whether the proposed treatment is in [the baby's] best interests," the court said.
The child will be held under medical "guardianship of the court" until "completion of his surgery" and recovery, by the end of January at the latest.
The parents remain custodians "for all other purposes" and will be "informed at all reasonable times of the nature and progress of Baby W's condition and treatment", the ruling stated.
The parentâs lawyer, Sue Grey, said it was an âunusualâ case in which âthe parents want better treatment for their child than the state is offeringâ.
New Zealand health authorities have insisted there is no risk to people receiving blood from vaccinated donors.
