Mother dies after refusing blood transfusion over faith fears
Jehovah's Witnesses said on Monday they are concerned for the family of a young mother who died after giving birth to twins because her faith prevented her from accepting a blood transfusion.
Posted: Monday, November 5, 2007, 14:57 (GMT)
LONDON - Jehovah's Witnesses said on Monday they are concerned for the family of a young mother who died after giving birth to twins because her faith prevented her from accepting a blood transfusion.
Media reports said Emma Gough, 22, from Telford, Shropshire, gave birth to a baby boy and girl at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on Oct. 25.
But complications set in after she suffered severe blood loss and she died hours later.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe the Bible prohibits the accepting of blood and that it is a sin to do so.
Followers are advised to make clear to hospital staff before any operation that they do not want a transfusion, and to sign a medical directive card making clear their choice.
Tom Taylor, chief executive of the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust, said in a statement: "We have offered our deepest condolences to the family, and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time."
Terry Lovejoy, spokesman for Jehovah's Witnesses in Telford, told Reuters: "We are very concerned for the family at a time of grief for them."
He said he did not want to comment further until the full facts had emerged and a hospital review had taken place.
Newspapers said Gough's husband Anthony, 24, is caring for the twins.
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Added: Thursday, November 8, 2007, 16:02 (GMT)
Many Jehovah's Witnesses men,women and children die every year worldwide due to blood transfusion ban.Rank & file Jehovah's Witness are indoctrinated to be scared to death of blood.
FYI
1) JW's DO USE many parts aka 'fractions' aka components of blood,so if it's 'sacred' to God why the hypocritical contradiction flip-flop?
2) They USE blood collections that are donated by Red cross and others but don't donate back,more hypocrisy.
3) The Watchtower promotes and praises bloodless elective surgeries,this is a great advancement indeed.BUT it's no good to me if I am bleeding to death from a car crash and lose half my blood volume and need EMERGENCY blood transfusion.
The Watchtower's rules against blood transfusions will eventually be abolished (very gradually to reduce wrongful death lawsuit liability) even now most of the blood 'components' are allowed.
In 20 years there will be artificial blood and the Red Cross will go on with other noble deeds.
Danny Haszard, Bangor Maine USA
Added: Tuesday, November 6, 2007, 10:18 (GMT)
The Orwellian Watchtower world.
Jehovah's Witnesses are brainwashed by watchtower cult indoctrination from 12 senile old men in New York city.
The problem is they are forbidden to use critical thinking skills
Brandy, Boston Mass USA
Added: Monday, November 5, 2007, 19:56 (GMT)
While we obviously feel for the family, is it not interesting that in each of these type of stories that the journalists can unequivocally state that the patient would have lived it they had blood. I wish there were more people like this on the earth that can tell be 100% for certainty that if I do this or that I will live or die. And that for a certainty that I will NOT get hepatitis, aids or any other number of blood borne disseisees from blood. Plus, if I do get sick afterward, I am sure that they will take care to me and mine for going along with them. No thanks! Not for me and mine.
bob, usa
Added: Monday, November 5, 2007, 17:36 (GMT)
This WatchTower Society requirement that Jehovah's Witnesses must refuse to accept any blood transfusions dates back only to 1945. Misinterpreting the Old Testament prohibition against eating animal blood as a routine food item, the WatchTower Society began teaching in 1945 that receiving a blood transfusion was "eating human blood". Jehovah's Witnesses believe that receiving an infusion of human blood into their body's circulatory system is scientifically the exact same thing as eating or ingesting blood into their body's digestive system.
"A patient in the hospital maybe fed through the mouth, through the nose, or through the veins. When sugar solutions are given intravenously it is called intravenous feeding. So the hospital's own terminology recognizes as feeding the process of putting nutrition into one's system via the veins. Hence the attendant administering the transfusion is feeding the patient through the veins, and the patient receiving it is eating through his veins." -- The WATCHTOWER magazine, July 1, 1951.
Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to acknowledge that when human blood is transfused into their body's circulatory system that the transfused human blood remains to be human blood and continues to function as human blood. Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to acknowledge that if blood is eaten, then the ingested blood enters the body's digestive system, where the blood would be treated by the body exactly the same as it would treat a hotdog, a potato chip, or any other food item. Ingested blood would be completely digested and broken down into proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and waste; which are then either assimilated or excreted by the body.
The WatchTower Society uses scriptures which speak about the blood of slaughtered animals to teach Jehovah's Witnesses that blood is "sacred" because blood is the "symbol of life". Then, the WatchTower Society turns around and requires Jehovah's Witnesses to sacrifice their own "life" to maintain the alleged "sacredness" of a "symbol" of the very thing they are sacrificing -- their life. Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to acknowledge that the WatchTower doctrine on blood moronically places a higher value on the SYMBOL than it does on the THING SYMBOLIZED.
In fact, the Old Testament scriptures permitted the eating of unbled animal meat, which the Bible treats exactly the same as eating animal blood itself. In isolated occasions, when humans needed to eat unbled meat in order to sustain their own human life, the Mosaic Law permitted such, but then required the eaters to fulfill the requirements of being "unclean" for a few days. Thus, the Bible recognized that the sustaining of human life was more "sacred" than maintaining the sacredness of animal blood. To do otherwise would be doing exactly what the moronic WatchTower Society does. It would make the SYMBOL more SACRED than the THING SYMBOLIZED.
In fact, the WatchTower Society is leading Jehovah's Witnesses to disobey GOD and violate the Holy Scriptures in one of the most serious ways possible. Because humans were created in GOD's image, GOD considers human life sacred. A Jehovah's Witness who sacrifices their SACRED LIFE in order to maintain the sacredness of a SYMBOL of that SACRED LIFE varies little from those who profane life by committing suicide. Those Jehovah's Witness Elders who teach and police this moronic doctrine vary little from common accessories to murder. The Bible is fairly clear in how GOD views murder, and how He deals with Murderers.
This moronic twisting of scripture would be laughable if not for the fact that it has lead to the pointless deaths of numerous Jehovah's Witnesses in the past, and it will continue to lead to the pointless deaths of many more Jehovah's Witnesses in the future.
Jerry Jones, Atlanta
