A woman suing Alberta Health Services (AHS), an Alberta hospital and six doctors for removing her from an organ transplant list for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine has lost her fight in Court of Queen's Bench..Annette Lewis claimed her removal from the waitlist based on her vaccination status was a violation of her Charter rights..The requirement "to take the experimental COVID-19 injection as a prerequisite to life-saving surgery is a definitive violation of Ms. Lewis' fundamental" freedom of conscience, right to life, liberty, and security of person, right to be free from discrimination and infringes on Section 1 of the Alberta Bill of Rights, explained the application portion of the ruling. .The 57-year-old Alberta woman requires an organ transplant and is presently on a waitlist for the procedure. The doctors she's suing are a team of specialist who would oversee Lewis' transplant at an Alberta hospital, also listed in the lawsuit. Due to a publication ban, the name of the hospital, doctors, or the organ listed as in need of transplant, cannot be mentioned. .Lewis was diagnosed with a terminal disease in 2018 and told she would not survive unless she received an organ transplant. The medical team determined she qualified for the procedure and placed her on a waitlist in June of 2020. .READ MORE: Edmonton doctors temporarily lift COVID vax requirement for dying patient.In March 2021, Lewis was advised she would be required to have the COVID-19 vaccine in order to receive the transplant. ."Taking this vaccine offends my conscience," said Lewis in her affidavit. ."I ought to have the choice about what goes into my body, and a lifesaving treatment cannot be denied to me because I chose not to take an experimental treatment for a condition — COVID-19 — which I do not have, and which I may never have.".The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) first wrote a demand letter to one of the doctors in September, but when Lewis received no response, the JCCF then filed an injunction to prevent the team from removing Lewis from the waitlist. .Before appearing in court in December, an agreement was reached between the parties and a Consent Order was entered that Ms. Lewis would "not be taken off the transplant list, and the physicians ... will not deny her a transplant solely because she has not received the COVID-19 vaccine." .The transplant program is run through an Alberta hospital by AHS and includes five respirologists, three transplant surgeons, an allied health team, and administrative staff. .The team determines what candidates qualify for the transplants and, based on a mortality rate of approximately 20%, said it selects candidates who have the "best probability of short and long-term survival." ."The [team] requires candidates be as medically optimized as possible for a successful [organ] transplant," said one of the doctors — recognized as doctor "A" in the affidavit. ."Rejection is based on [the team] Committee consensus that [an organ] transplantation would unacceptably increase the patient’s risk of death without a meaningful chance of improving duration and quality of life.".Because transplant patients are placed on strong immunosuppressant — or anti-rejection medication — making them much more susceptible to infection, organ recipients are required to be up to date on all vaccinations, including the COVID-19 vaccine. .After reviewing both arguments along with each party's supplemental evidence, Justice R. Paul Belzil ruled the Charter has "no application to clinical treatment decisions made by treating physicians" and Lewis' application was dismissed.
A woman suing Alberta Health Services (AHS), an Alberta hospital and six doctors for removing her from an organ transplant list for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine has lost her fight in Court of Queen's Bench..Annette Lewis claimed her removal from the waitlist based on her vaccination status was a violation of her Charter rights..The requirement "to take the experimental COVID-19 injection as a prerequisite to life-saving surgery is a definitive violation of Ms. Lewis' fundamental" freedom of conscience, right to life, liberty, and security of person, right to be free from discrimination and infringes on Section 1 of the Alberta Bill of Rights, explained the application portion of the ruling. .The 57-year-old Alberta woman requires an organ transplant and is presently on a waitlist for the procedure. The doctors she's suing are a team of specialist who would oversee Lewis' transplant at an Alberta hospital, also listed in the lawsuit. Due to a publication ban, the name of the hospital, doctors, or the organ listed as in need of transplant, cannot be mentioned. .Lewis was diagnosed with a terminal disease in 2018 and told she would not survive unless she received an organ transplant. The medical team determined she qualified for the procedure and placed her on a waitlist in June of 2020. .READ MORE: Edmonton doctors temporarily lift COVID vax requirement for dying patient.In March 2021, Lewis was advised she would be required to have the COVID-19 vaccine in order to receive the transplant. ."Taking this vaccine offends my conscience," said Lewis in her affidavit. ."I ought to have the choice about what goes into my body, and a lifesaving treatment cannot be denied to me because I chose not to take an experimental treatment for a condition — COVID-19 — which I do not have, and which I may never have.".The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) first wrote a demand letter to one of the doctors in September, but when Lewis received no response, the JCCF then filed an injunction to prevent the team from removing Lewis from the waitlist. .Before appearing in court in December, an agreement was reached between the parties and a Consent Order was entered that Ms. Lewis would "not be taken off the transplant list, and the physicians ... will not deny her a transplant solely because she has not received the COVID-19 vaccine." .The transplant program is run through an Alberta hospital by AHS and includes five respirologists, three transplant surgeons, an allied health team, and administrative staff. .The team determines what candidates qualify for the transplants and, based on a mortality rate of approximately 20%, said it selects candidates who have the "best probability of short and long-term survival." ."The [team] requires candidates be as medically optimized as possible for a successful [organ] transplant," said one of the doctors — recognized as doctor "A" in the affidavit. ."Rejection is based on [the team] Committee consensus that [an organ] transplantation would unacceptably increase the patient’s risk of death without a meaningful chance of improving duration and quality of life.".Because transplant patients are placed on strong immunosuppressant — or anti-rejection medication — making them much more susceptible to infection, organ recipients are required to be up to date on all vaccinations, including the COVID-19 vaccine. .After reviewing both arguments along with each party's supplemental evidence, Justice R. Paul Belzil ruled the Charter has "no application to clinical treatment decisions made by treating physicians" and Lewis' application was dismissed.
