Jun 26, 2018
By Michael Kramer
A judge has dismissed a family’s application to keep their daughter on life support – after she was declared clinically brain dead in hospital.
Taquisha McKitty’s parents say her Christian faith states a person is alive as long as their heart is beating – and that her religious freedoms were infringed – when doctors declared her dead based on brain function.
Judge Lucille Shaw ruled against the family today – saying the medical determination of death cannot be subject to an individual’s values and beliefs – and that keeping patients on life support after their brain had stopped working – could have a significant financial impact on the health care system.
A lawyer for McKitty’s family says the decision defies Canadian constitutional protections of life, security and religious freedom.
But the judge says McKitty is not protected by Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms because – as someone who was declared brain dead – McKitty is no longer considered a person under the law.
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