Defining Harm ─ Religious Freedom and the Limits of the Law

Harding, a former lawyer, now holds a chair in the contextualization of religion in a diverse Canada at the University of Ottawa. She draws on her legal background in this use of a single case to ignite discussion on the question of how religion is viewed in the legal system of Canada and in the society at large. Bethany Hughes was a seventeen-year old Jehovah's Witness with leukemia. She refused blood transfusions necessary to her treatment. The case was brought to court and the transfusions were given against her will. She died. Harding asks why it is considered noble to die for one's country but not for one's faith. The question of how much the state can interfere in behavior taken on religious grounds is a thorny one. Harding gives no definitive answers but notes that there is a general uneasiness, even fear, among legal practitioners and society at large toward minority religions. The theme of the book is that the subject needs to be addressed in an unbiased discourse among all parties. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)