The United States was the scene of significant legal battles in state appellate courts. In August 1994, claiming concern that a child might be raised without a mother, a hospital in Connecticut obtained a court order at 3:30 a.m. to force a blood transfusion on Nelly Vega. The argument of her husband and of her attorney that her bleeding had stopped and that she had clearly stated her refusal of blood was pushed aside. However, on April 16, 1996, the Connecticut Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the transfusion order “violated [Sister] Vega’s common-law right to bodily self-determination.” That ruling did not come in time to prevent the transfusion, but it will benefit others. In Florida, in a case involving Tina Harrell, an appeal court rebuked both a hospital and a trial court for challenging her refusal of blood transfusions.

The island of Puerto Rico was the scene of another appellate court victory for Jehovah’s people. Luz Quiles, admitted to a hospital for elective surgery, was forcibly restrained, two nurses and a doctor holding her down and giving her a blood transfusion against her wishes. A lawsuit was filed in her behalf. On April 1, 1996, the San Juan Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that her constitutional right of freedom of worship and privacy guaranteed by the Bill of Rights of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico had indeed been violated.