Stinemetz v. Kansas Health Policy Authority

Malone, J.:

Mary D. Stinemetz, a Kansas citizen and a practicing Jehovah’s Witness, needs a liver transplant, yet her religious beliefs prohibit blood transfusions. There is a medically accepted technique, known as a bloodless liver transplant, in which liver transplant surgery can be performed without a blood transfusion, although many medical facilities do not consider this technique to be the safest procedure. Cost is not the issue. The available evidence indicates that the bloodless technique is less expensive than a procedure involving blood transfusions. There is no medical facility in…