ScotlandConfirmed
Scottish judge holds the court can consent for a child whose parents refuse — two of three cases are Jehovah's Witness blood refusals
Lord Braid's opinion of 20 August 2026 covers three petitions that reached Scotland's highest civil court within about two weeks. In two, brought by Greater Glasgow Health Board, Jehovah's Witness parents had refused blood; the court authorised a transfusion only if the treating clinician judged it necessary to avoid serious harm including death. The third, from Borders Health Board, records no religious objection: parents who prefer natural remedies refused a tetanus jab after the family dog bit their daughter. The judge recorded that all three sets of parents were “loving parents.”