Court suspended parental rights in 1 day to save boy's life+

TOKYO, March 15 Kyodo - A Japanese court accepted on the same day a child consultation center's request to suspend the parental rights of a couple who refused to let their son have a blood transfusion in 2008, enabling a hospital to save the 1-year-old boy's
life, according to sources close to the matter.

The couple rejected the hospital's blood transfusion offer, citing ''religious
reasons.'' Notified by the hospital, the center filed the request with the
family court as it regarded the case, which took place in eastern Japan, as one
of ''medical neglect'' -- a form of child abuse.
Medical treatment for a child usually requires the approval of his or her
parents. In the past, the suspension of parental rights took about a week for a
case of medical neglect, but it is rare for a court to give a judgment on the
same day it accepted the request.
The latest case is an example of how the child consultation center, the
hospital and the family court cooperated in carrying forward legal procedures
to realize urgent medical treatment.
According to the sources, the boy suffered symptoms of shock and was diagnosed
with massive bleeding from the digestive tract due to unknown causes.
The hospital notified the child consultation center that the boy's life was in
danger, and around noon the following day the center asked the family court to
suspend the couple's parental rights as a stopgap measure until a conclusion on
the matter had been reached.
The family court decided in about six or seven hours of deliberations that the
child's welfare must take precedence over the parents' beliefs and accepted the
request to suspend their parental rights.
Following the decision, the hospital treated the boy and his life was saved.
The center later withdrew its request and the boy is now being raised by his
parents again.