Supporters of the boy's parents, who unsuccessfully fought to prevent the boy from receiving blood transfusions from vaccinated Kiwis, hold a vigil outside Starship Children's Hospital as the critically ill baby undergoes potentially life-saving heart surgery. Video / NZ Herald
A life-saving operation on a sick baby at the centre of a stand-off over the use of vaccinated people’s blood has been successfully completed and the child is now recovering in hospital.
The parent’s lawyer, Sue Grey, confirmed to the Herald last night that she had spoken to the couple. “Everyone’s exhausted and are just so relieved that he’s come through the surgery.”
She said the parents had been allowed to see their child after the operation in Starship children’s hospital in Auckland and were relieved it had gone well.
Anti-vaccination mandate protestors outside the Auckland High Court as a case is heard over the supply of blood to a four-month old baby in Starship who requires urgent surgery. The mother of the baby - Samantha Savage-Reeves outside the High Court
New Zealand Herald photograph by Alex Burton 30 November 2022
“People were desperate to hear the news,” Grey said, “it’s been quite an amazing and stressful journey.”
Police had to uplift the gravely ill baby on Thursday night so he could prepare for his surgery after his parents objected to doctors’ and officers’ attempts to carry out the operation. The parents had opposed their child receiving transfused blood from vaccinated donors.
The police intervention was captured on video.
Starship hospital. Photo / Natalie Slade
It came after the High Court made an emergency order on Thursday for the parents to stop blocking doctors from carrying out the surgery. The parents allegedly told doctors trying to prepare the baby for surgery: “You touch our child and we will press criminal charges against you.”
Starship had to beef up its security throughout the week as protesters gathered outside in support of the parents in what has become a cause celebre of the anti-vaccine movement.
Auckland health authorities confirm they have trespassed one person from hospital facilities after tensions rose.
Te Whatu Ora Auckland interim director Dr Mike Shepherd told the Herald in a statement that extra security measures had been implemented to ensure clinical teams could continue to provide patient care and allow families to visit their loved ones.
Supporters of the baby boy's parents gathered outside the High Court at Auckland after the parents opposed the use of blood from Covid-19 vaccinated donors for his lifesaving surgery. Photo / Michael Craig
Shepherd said someone was trespassed from the hospital earlier this week. Veteran broadcaster-turned-conspiracist Liz Gunn’s claimed she and the baby’s father had been trespassed.
“From time to time, it may be necessary to trespass an individual or individuals from our site, sometimes only for a few hours, if they are impacting our clinical team’s ability to care for patients,” Shepherd said.
He said it remained the hospital’s priority to “work alongside the baby’s whānau as we continue to care for him”.
On Wednesday Justice Ian Gault ruled in favour of health authorities who had sought court guardianship of the baby boy, who has automatic name suppression.
Justice Gault delivered his ruling after a lengthy hearing on Tuesday, where Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand and Grey locked horns in the High Court at Auckland as anti-vax protesters gathered outside.
The mother of the baby outside the High Court with Liz Gunn (right) and lawyer Sue Grey. Photo / Alex Burton
The parents wanted the child to receive blood from exclusively unvaccinated donors. They appeared on right-wing conspiracist Alex Jones’ Infowars podcast expressing their outrage at the court’s decision on Thursday evening.
Footage of police intervening to allow the baby to prepare for his surgery shows an officer explaining to the parents the baby needs the procedure as soon as possible, as another walks towards the baby to take him.
The mother, who appeared to be crying, says to the officers, “please stop”, the father then steps in and starts calling the officers “criminals”.
“You guys are criminals, you are criminals, you are conducting a criminal act here,” the father said.
The tearful mother then says, “How can you do this ... oh my God,” and yells at the officers, “Get out of my way, get out of my way, can you please get out of my way,” as they stand in front of her trying to stop her from leaving with the baby.
Police intervened to allow Baby W to be taken away for pre-operation checks at Starship Hospital. Photo / via video
Officers continue to reason with the couple as they keep protesting the need for the baby to have his pre-operation checks.
Justice Gault said on Thursday night Te Toka Tumai-Auckland Health had sought an urgent court order clarifying “that the police are entitled to use reasonable force to remove Baby W from the parents and/or remove the parents in order to facilitate the steps necessary prior to Baby W’s surgery, including taking him to surgery when it occurs”.
The judgment said that staff had attempted to prepare the baby for surgery, including taking blood tests, performing a chest x-ray and performing an anaesthetic assessment.
On Wednesday, Justice Gault had ordered the baby to be placed under the guardianship of the High Court “from the date of the order until completion of his surgery and post-operative recovery to address obstruction to the outflow tract of his right ventricle and at latest until January 31, 2023″.
