A Minor

Every citizen in Canada is guaranteed specific democratic and legal rights which are set out in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, in the case of Bethany Hughes, a sixteen-year old girl who refused blood transfusions due to certain religious beliefs, and then was given dozens of blood transfusions against her will, it would seem that some of these rights were taken away from her because she was a minor. Such a controversial …showed first 75 words of 1076 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1076 total…well. In the case of Tyrell Dueck, the thirteen-year old Ontario boy was allowed to refuse chemotherapy because of religious beliefs and because he was seen as a “mature minor.” Based on this precedent case, why wasn’t Bethany Hughes allowed to do the same? It comes down to this: as a sixteen-year old Canadian citizen, I want to know, in the eyes of the law, am I an adult, or am I a child?