Crank dies after refusing blood transfusion
When I am listening to Viking FM every so often the music is interrupted by adverts and one of them is Give Blood. A woman recounts how when she was giving birth to her twins complications developed and but for receiving 4 pints of blood in a transfusion either she or the twins would not have survived.
Then today I read this:
Mother dies after refusing blood
A young mother has died after giving birth to twins, following claims that she had refused a blood transfusion because of her faith.
I think that the Jehovah's Witnesses religion is cranky and worshipped by cranks. However, given this Jehovah's Witnesses drop transfusion ban, I cannot help but wonder why this mother decided to sacrifice her life for her belief. It is stupidity. The twins have now to be brought up motherless. And this is the real tragedy. Either the Jehovah's Witnesses religion needs to clarify that it is not against their religion to receive a blood transfusion, or hospitals should be given the right to overrule a patients wishes in such a case. This is a medical issue and not a religious one.
UPDATE:
Refusing blood 'source of regret'
When Rachel Underhill heard news of the death of 22-year-old Jehovah's Witness Emma Gough last month after refusing a blood transfusion, it brought back memories of her own traumatic choice eight years ago.
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
8 comments:
Can anyone tell me where in the bible does it forbid blood transfusions? this is what these misinformed types base their decision on. Also, what they forget is that the bible is a collection of books written by many and mis-translated over the course of many years. The original meanings are either irrellevent or lost in the translation.
I know of one bit in the bible where some bloke tells the jews what they can and cannot eat, for example "thou shalt not eat of the flesh of the pig" and thou shalt eat of the fishes of the sea but not of the shellfish"
These were not autocratic commands but in their day, pure common sense. Pigs were unclean animals because conditions were not good then and pork could harbour the disease "trichenosis". Also shellfish as you know don't have a very good shelf-life so it was unwise to eat them in the absence of good freezing techniques. Just common sense good advice in the Big Yin's day.
But I would ask any Jovo how an ancient law designed to protect the faithful against diseases spread by blood infection WAY BACK THEN in biblical times when sod all was known about medicine can possibly be applied to the medical situation in this present day?
Too many would rather throw away their brains and rely on a formula written by some pratt in a dress years ago because it is easier to do as you are told rather than to THINK for oneself.
Still, at least the poor woman now has a really good seat next to Jehova with a grandstand view of her grieving children.
Found the passage but still can't see where it says about refusing transfusions:
"And any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people
Leviticus 17:10"
From what I can understand it forbids being a vampire, Innit?
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.
SUMMARIES OF 300 JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES LAWSUITS & COURT CASES
The following website summarizes over 315 U.S. court cases and lawsuits affecting children of Jehovah's Witness Parents, including 200+ cases where the JW Parents refused to consent to life-saving blood transfusions for their dying children:
DIVORCE, BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS, AND OTHER LEGAL ISSUES AFFECTING CHILDREN OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
http://jwdivorces.bravehost.com
So a black pudding is out of the question, then?
I cannot understand any religion and the make-up of them.
Trying to live a life according the the writings of people from thousands of years ago on the basis of what someone said to a friend, then passed on to another seems strange, if not deluded.
I think religion should be a choice, but have no reflection on law and order and modern living.
If you didn't tell your first born about religion, do they suddenly have dreams and messages from god?
Grow up thinking 'Im missing something'
Old or modern religion are the idea of cranks to control and achieve riches. It's strange how there are so many different Gods and holy prophets. They claim the Bible is factual!! And moses opened his arms and ordered the river to devide...something like that! what a load of shit. They also claim that the anti religous groups created dinosaurs because Adam and Eve were about first!
These people thought the world was flat!
Life evolves (Darwins words) The bible bashers think not and let them carry on. I bet 70% of people in this country dont go to church, prey, have read a bible or want to.
It's going out of fashion as will all religions, because as we get smarter and stop dragging our knuckles on the ground, so we see common sense.
like members of any cult,I could care less what they do.
I am intrigued after seeing the head JW nutjob on the BBC breakfast sofa this am.
If blood transfusion equates to "consuming blood" as per Acts 15: 28-29 then what the fuck is eating a cheeseburger for crying out loud?
Jehovah's Witnesses elders will investigate and disfellowship any Jehovah Witness who takes a blood transfusion,to say the issue is a 'personal conscience matter' is subterfuge to keep the Watchtower out of lawsuits.
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.
Know this,the reason that JW refuse blood is because of their spin on the 3000 year old Biblical old testament,modern medicine will eventually make blood donations and transfusions a thing of the past.When this technology happens it won't vindicate the Jehovah's Witnesses and all the deaths that have occured so far.
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.
None of these changes will absolve the Watchtower leaders or vindicate their twisted doctrines
Are there dangers from blood?There are over 500 aspirin deaths in USA yearly.
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Danny Haszard born 1957 3rd generation Jehovah's Witness
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