[1] Shortly after Hughes' diagnosis, the province of Alberta applied for child custody in order to ensure she received the blood transfusions, which was eventually granted.
Custody went back to her mother in July 2002, when doctors determined that Hughes condition had worsened and that she should receive palliative care.
[6] The legal case brought by the province of Alberta focused on the average survival rates for her prescribed treatment,[2] and the obligation to preserve life.
[8] Some doctors involved in Hughes' treatment considered her to be a mature minor and did not want to force her to have blood transfusions.
[14] In a 2016 interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Hughes' father mentioned that he did not believe his daughter was capable of informed consent.
He stated that Jehovah's Witness publications promote misinformation about the effectiveness of blood transfusions, members that willingly accept them are shunned, and that his daughter had received letters from hundreds of Jehovah's Witnesses urging her not to accept blood.