On September 17, 2024, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights ruled unanimously that a patient’s right to choose medical treatment in harmony with their personal convictions must be respected. This landmark ruling obligates not only Spain but all 46 member states of the Council of Europe to respect a patient’s right to choose what medical treatment they receive.

In June 2018, 47-year-old Sister Rosa Pindo Mulla was admitted to a hospital in Madrid, Spain, for a minimally invasive procedure. Before being treated, Rosa presented her doctors with an advance health-care directive and explained that her personal convictions and Bible-trained conscience would not permit her to accept a blood transfusion. (Acts 15:28, 29) Hospital staff recorded Rosa’s instructions in her medical chart. However, unbeknownst to Rosa, a duty judge authorized Rosa’s doctors to perform invasive surgery and to administer blood transfusions. Following her operation, Rosa was appalled to learn that the hospital staff had ignored her wishes by administering blood transfusions, which she had clearly refused.

In issuing its judgment in the case of Pindo Mulla v. Spain, all 17 judges of the Grand Chamber agreed that “the competent, adult patient has the right to refuse” unwanted medical care, affirming that “it is a cardinal principle in the sphere of health care that the right of the patient to give or withhold consent to treatment has to be respected.”

As a united worldwide brotherhood, we are pleased with the court’s decision to uphold the right of Sister Pindo Mulla and millions of others to choose medical treatment according to their personal beliefs, values, and convictions.