Because Bethany was a Jehovah's Witness, she refused the blood transfusions in adherence to her faith and religious beliefs (Christians believe the Bible says people should not accept other's blood into their bodies). The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states in section 2(a) that every citizen of Canada has "freedom of conscience and religion." Bethany refused the blood transfusions because that is what she believed as a Jehovah's Witness. In the article, it says that Bethany was given the transfusions anyway because a panel of judges agreed that even though Bethany was con

On an even more surprising note, not only are ages in which a minor is considered "mature" very diverse depending on the situation the minor is involved in, apparently, the age of which a minor is "mature" also depends on which province you live in. According to the article, if Bethany were to be living in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland or the Northwest Territories, her decision to refuse medical treatment would have been respected. However since she lived in Alberta, her decision was ruled out because she was under the age of eighteen . How can a teenager living in Ontario, for example, be more mature than a teenager in Alberta? They can't; where you live in the country reflects nothing on how mature the minor is. The maturity of the minor should depend on either a set, uniform age throughout the country, or to the maturity of the certain individual. Additionally, if the minor was agreed upon to be a "mature minor" in which several doctors and judges agreed that Bethany Hughes was, than why wasn't she able to make her own medical decision? As mentioned before, the argument that she was influenced by fellow Jehovah's Witnesses in is insufficient as it violates section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The real issue in the article is the difference of what age is considered "mature" around Canada. It seems like in every situation where a minor is involved in, there is always a different age involved in terms of the question of is the minor to be treated, tried, and even punished as an "adult." For example, in Canada, for serious indictable offences in which a minor who is fo

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1102
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)