(7/15/99)
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, England (AP) -- A 15-year-old girl in Britain has undergone a heart transplant against her wishes at the order of a High Court judge.
Doctors at Freeman Hospital in this northeast England city had gone to the London court seeking a legal ruling to compel the girl, known only as Child M, to have the life-saving operation.
The girl suffered heart failure in May and was ``close to death,'' the doctors said. Her mother had consented to the operation, but the girl would not agree to it.
Although minors do not have the legal power to override parental consent, their refusal to undergo surgery is considered by doctors and the courts to be a ``very important consideration.''
Child M's case became public Thursday when the High Court justice involved, Robert Johnson, explained the reasons for his decision.
Johnson said he knew his ruling meant the girl would carry with her for the rest of her life ``resentment about what has been done to her.'' But he said he had to weigh that against ``not simply the risk, but the certainty of death.''
Johnson, who specializes in family law cases, said he sent an experienced lawyer to talk to the girl before making his ruling Saturday.
He quoted her as telling the lawyer ``Death is final -- I know I can't change my mind.
``I don't want to die, but I would rather die than have the transplant and have someone else's heart. I would rather die with 15 years of my own heart.''
``It's hard to take it all in,'' the girl said, according to the lawyer. ``I feel selfish. If I had the transplant, I wouldn't be happy. If I were to die, my family would be sad. Maybe some kind and gentle gun- wielding psychopath will put me out of my misery.''
A spokeswoman for Freeman Hospital, who would not give her name, refused to say when the heart transplant took place or give the girl's condition. ``I can confirm that the person in question has undergone a transplant and is currently recovering,'' she said.
In his court filing, the judge noted that Child M had been ``a healthy, active girl'' who is quite intelligent and ``almost dead.''
``Events have overtaken her so swiftly that she has not been able to come to terms with her situation,'' the judge said, ``I would know, because I am a judge, and she is just a girl.''