|
Kerry Williamson |
|
Calgary Herald |
CREDIT: Calgary Herald Archive
Lawrence Hughes blames his wife for his daughter Bethany's
death on Sept. 5, 2002. |
CREDIT: Calgary Herald Archive
Arliss, Bethany and Cassandra Hughes in May 2003. |
CREDIT: Calgary Herald Archive
Lawrence and Arliss Hughes embraced at their daughter's
funeral. |
CREDIT: Calgary Herald Archive
Bethany Hughes |
Thursday, July 17, 2003
When Bethany Hughes was buried at a north Calgary
cemetery after her tough fight with cancer, her parents came
together in tears and hugged beside her casket.
Close to a year later, however, and the once-close
couple is again fighting through the courts, that moment amidst
the grief of a funeral light years away.
"I wish we didn't have to do this," says Lawrence
Hughes, Bethany's father, who fought hard to have his daughter
undergo blood transfusions against her will and the will of
her mother, Arliss. "It's not easy. But if this fight saves
one life, it's worth it."
Hughes and his estranged wife will again face
off in Calgary's Court of Queen's Bench this afternoon, a continuation
of a bitter divorce and custody case sparked by the death of
17-year-old Bethany last September.
The Calgary teen died of acute myeloid leukemia
while seeking alternative treatment at Edmonton's Cross Cancer
Institute.
She made headlines nationwide after refusing to
undergo blood transfusions because of her strong Jehovah's Witnesses
faith.
Her father went against her and his wife, convincing
the province to force his daughter to undergo 38 transfusions.
Bethany -- who used the name Mia in the media
to protect her identity -- fought the protection order, claiming
it was her right as a mature person to make her own medical
decisions.
Bethany Hughes even tried to pull the medical
tubes from her arms while bedridden at Alberta Children's Hospital.
Doctors who first determined she would die without
transfusions eventually decided that she was too sick to face
further chemotherapy sessions and gave up their custody of Bethany.
She died Sept. 5, 2002.
Lawrence Hughes claims the Watchtower Society
and his wife played a major role in his daughter's death by
fighting the transfusions, and filed a scathing 17-point notice
of motion with the court in April.
He is now fighting for sole custody of the couple's
youngest daughter, 16-year-old Cassandra, who lives with her
mother and is also a Jehovah's Witness. He claims he has only
been allowed to see Cassandra three times since last summer,
and is seeking to have her completely free of any influence
of her faith and the society, which he believes has brainwashed
his daughter and wife.
He is also calling on Arliss Hughes to be charged
with criminal negligence over the death of Bethany, and for
his wife and Cassandra to take "regular intense therapy sessions
with a cult deprogrammer."
"I'm concerned about my daughter, what she's being
taught and whether she will be allowed to get medical treatment
if she falls sick," says Hughes.
"I want to be a part of her life. I want to see
my daughter. I don't think it is right that I have to fight
a billion-dollar corporation so I can see my daughter. I don't
think that makes sense."
Shane Brady, the Toronto-based lawyer for Arliss
Hughes, says Lawrence Hughes' allegations are "outrageous."
"He's saying that Arliss basically killed Bethany
because she was so irresponsible, and because of that she shouldn't
have custody of Cassandra," says Brady, whom Hughes also wants
off the case because of his connections to the Watchtower Society.
"There's also some outrageous things being said
about the religious community."
Arliss Hughes also wishes the court cases were
over. She rigorously defends herself -- and her faith -- against
any accusations that she put Bethany's health at risk, and believes
Cassandra should be left to decide whom she lives with.
"I really don't see what this (Hughes' allegations)
has to do with a divorce. This is about difference between a
husband and a wife. In that sense, I think the children should
be left out of it," she says. "This is about a couple who don't
agree anymore, but who still love their children, and the children
shouldn't be put in the middle."
Arliss Hughes says she did all she could to help
Bethany. "I did everything she asked of me. We tried everything
we could think of to get the doctors to take care of Bethany,"
she says.
As the anniversary of her death edges closer,
the estranged couple do have one thing in common: the thoughts
and memories of Bethany.
"To me, it's the little things that I think of,
that remind me of her," says Arliss.
"I think of her every day," says Lawrence.
kwilliamson@theherald.canwest.com
