Former Jehovah's Witness: 'Blood transfusion death could have been me'

When Rachel Underhill heard the recent shocking news about Emma Gough, the 22 year old Jehovah's Witness who died within a few hours of giving birth to twins after refusing a blood transfusion, she realised how lucky she was to be alive.

Eight years ago, Rachel was herself a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses and she too refused a blood transfusion when her own twins were born by emergency caesarean section ten weeks premature.

"A chill went down my spine as I saw the headlines while standing in the supermarket," says Rachel, founder of a website offering support to former Jehovah's Witnesses.

"It was déjà vu, my own story came flooding back to me all over again and I realised just how lucky I am to be alive. It was so like my own story she could have been me - a young mum, recently married. I feel so very sorry for her and her family."

She said, "I also feel angry because this could all have been avoided if only the Jehovah's Witnesses would recognise how out of date and out of touch they are with other Christians on this matter and change their policy.

"Instead, another person has died. I suspect the Jehovah's Witness Hospital Liaison Committee was there when she went, ensuring she did not have a transfusion, offering alternative, in this case useless suggestions, stipulating to her and her husband what should and should not be done, instead of letting medics do the job they are supposed to do - save lives."

As well as urging the Jehovah's Witnesses hierarchy to change their policy, Rachel Underhill also feels the law should be changed to ensure this does not happen again and protect the UK's 70,000-strong Jehovah's Witness' population from themselves.

"Hospitals can override parents' wishes when it comes to treatment of Jehovah's Witness children," she says. "The same should be true of Jehovah's Witness adults. They should be allowed to administer a transfusion without fear of censure or legal action.

"After all, one day like me that person may see the light, leave the Jehovah's Witnesses and be grateful."

Talking about her present situation, Underhill said: "I've just seen my own daughter - who has cerebral palsy - have a five-hour bowel and bladder operation. I was told she may need a blood transfusion and I was overjoyed to be able to sign the consent form saying the hospital could treat her in any way they felt best. If I had still been a Jehovah's Witness, the situation would have been very different and I find that shocking."

Rachel Underhill spent thirty years as a Jehovah's Witness, eventually leaving because of the many abuses she saw in the faith.

She went on and founded www.exJW-reunited.com earlier this year to support others like her who had either left or were considering leaving the sect.

Jehovah's Witnesses are members of an international religious organisation of the same name, whose adherents believe it to be a restored form of first-century Christianity.

The religion was developed in response "to what they saw as compromise and corruption in mainstream Christianity." They dispute doctrines such as the Trinity, hellfire, immortality of the soul, and clergy-laity divisions as illegitimate additions to the original Christian teachings.

Most of the doctrines of Jehovah's Witnesses differ from those of mainstream Christianity, and are considered heresy by most mainstream Christian scholars. Possibly the most controversial doctrinal differences relate to the nature of God and of Jesus, particularly the Jehovah's Witnesses' rejection of the Trinity.