Judge grants injunction to family of woman declared brain dead a week ago

BRAMPTON, Ont. — A 27-year-old woman declared brain dead by doctors at a Toronto-area hospital will remain on life support following a court ruling on Thursday.

Ontario Superior Court Judge Lucille Shaw granted Taquisha McKitty’s family an injunction until their next court date in two weeks.

The injunction gives the family a chance to have another doctor examine McKitty and her medical charts.

Doctors at Brampton Civic Hospital signed McKitty’s death certificate on Sept. 20, six days after she was admitted to the hospital following a drug overdose.

The hospital has said two experienced physicians make the determination of death, following a recognized standard of practice and criteria.

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McKitty has been on life support since then, and her family has been fighting with the hospital to keep her alive, saying her heart is still beating and she has been responsive.

“When we touch her, when we ask her to move, she moves,” Ajwoa Atuahene, McKitty’s cousin, told Toronto radio station 680News. “She’s responding. She’s doing everything on her own. She’s fighting and she’s not ready to go.”

“We’re going to fight and we’re going to continue to save Taquisha’s life,” Atuahene said Thursday outside the Brampton, Ont., court.

“This means so much to us as a family because this is all we’ve been asking from Day 1 is just to give her more time,” she said of the injunction.

“They wanted to pull the plug on her within one week. That’s not enough time.”

(680News)

The Canadian Press