Religion vs. Ethics?

Its an age old question and one that has come up again in Canada in the form of sextuplets. Today The Times reported on a story about two parents and their babies, and the right the parents have over the children's lives when it comes to religion. The problem goes like this:

Mother is soon to have 6 babies but there is a chance some will die because they will be too small and there will be overcrowding in the womb. The doctor offers a “selective reduction”, whereby some of the foetuses will be removed to improve the chances of the others. The parents decline. So the six babies are born and two die. The babies then need a blood transfusion, and this is where it gets difficult because the parents are Jehovah's witnesses, and therefore do not believe in blood transfusions due to their interpretation of the bible.

So, the question is, do the parents have the right to choose the religion of their children? Do they have the right to choose the religion of their children if it might stop them from living? It is their right to choose their religion, and a baby does not yet have the ability to choose, so it is therefore up to the parent. But can a parent choose a path separate from life for a newborn child?

The doctors at the hospital and consequently the local courts decided that the parents don't have that right and took the surviving babies into protective custody and did the blood transfusion. The courts then later returned custody to the parents. Should the government step in and stop a parent from exercising their right to religion and the rights of their children? My opinion is that a government shouldn't involve itself in the religion and its choices of a person. But if it is the religious rights of an individual who does not have the conscious ability to choose, then the government can definitely step in and protect the human life with all methods at its disposal. What do you think?