Health and Justice
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By h.b. - Oct 16, 2007 - 7:28 AM
There are a couple of interesting cases concerning the Spanish health service in the news at present. The stories of Jessica and Rocio

EDITORIAL COMMENT

Firstly the tragic case of Jessica, an 11 year old girl from the Basque Country, who was taken ill during a school trip to Barcelona over the weekend. Having spent several days vomiting and with stomach pains, she was seen twice by different medical teams and diagnosed as having gastroenteritis. She later died, with the cause of death still a mystery as autopsy results are awaited.

There are many allegations in the case, such as ambulance crews with no qualified doctors, and a full investigation needs to be carried out as quickly as possible so the family can find some sort of closure and understanding as to what may have happened. Her classmates are meanwhile undergoing psychiatric assistance.

The other case is no less dramatic, and again here speed is of the essence. A six month old baby from Sevilla is seriously ill, suffering from liver failure. The mother is happy to donate part of her liver to save the life of her baby, but the law says no.

The legal problem is that the law in Spain says you have to be aged 18, before you can decide to be an organ donor.

Already described as an exceptional case, the Andalucian Ethics Committee has been called to discuss the case which has seen the mother’s appeal turned down in court once already.

The mother turns 18 in five months time, but she fears that her baby might be dead by then.

It is the nature of an effective and modern health service that it can respond to the everyday emergencies of the first case, and it is essential that if errors were made, lessons are learned.

And if the health service has to respond quickly, well, so does the judiciary in the second case. Few people would deny the right of the 17 year old mother to decide. Legally not an adult, the courts should simply understand that Rocio is however a mother, and that makes her mature enough to sacrifice part of her own liver for the benefit of her child if doctors advise her that it is the best thing to do.

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