Pindo Mulla v. SPAIN (Application no. 15541/20)

Decision from the Grand Chamber of the ECHR regarding emergency medical treatment for a Jehovah's Witness who wished to refuse blood transfusions

The short summary below is reproduced from the ECHR website 

In the case of Pindo Mulla v. Spain the Court held that there had been a violation of the right to respect for private and family life read in the light of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

The case concerned blood transfusions administered to the applicant, a Jehovah’s Witness, during emergency surgery, despite her refusal to undergo a blood transfusion of any kind.

The Court found that the authorisation to proceed with that treatment had resulted from a decision-making process that had been affected by the omission of essential information about the documenting of the applicant’s wishes, which had been recorded in various forms and at various times in writing. Since neither the applicant nor anyone connected with her had been made aware of the decision taken by the duty judge authorising all treatment, it had not been possible to rectify that omission. Neither this issue nor the issue of her capacity to take a decision had been addressed in an adequate manner in the subsequent proceedings. The national system had therefore not responded adequately to her complaint that her wishes had been wrongly overruled.

Read the judgment on HUDOC