Religion and Rights: The Illusion of Freedom and the Reality of ControL

This paper examines legal guarantees of freedom of religion through the vehicle of rights using a case study of a Jehovah's Witness member in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, who refused to receive blood transfusions prescribed as part of her cancer treatment. The paper examines the pervasive concept of risk of harm that has recently become part of legal discourse in the balancing of rights process. The notion of governance is used to examine the social control of the individual and the deviant population. Aspects of both governmentality and resistance are explored.