Blood Update

by Lee Elder 5 Replies latest jw friends

  • Lee Elder
    Lee Elder

    Dr. Muramoto and myself have had to take a step back to care for personal
    issues but we hope to be back to full speed next year.

    We have completed work on a major article to be published in an American
    Medical Journal later this year.

    I am nearly done with another article on the blood issue for a different
    American Medical Journal and Sam and I have plans to do a third in the near
    future.

    I was intrigued by a newsreport today concerning a new law passed
    in Connecticut that makes it illegal for principals, teachers, counselors and other
    school officials to recommend to parents that their children take psychiatric
    medication for behavioral or learning disorders. The law effectively prohibits
    school personnel from practicing medicine without a license. The law is the
    first of its kind in the U.S.

    The author of the article, John Rosemond, has a master's degree in psychology
    and writes a column on parenting. In the article he made this fascinating comment:

    "A good number of pediatricians across the country have reported to me that school personnel
    not only often recommend medicating children, but also are not averse to arguing with any physician
    who disagrees."

    I could not help but be reminded of how the Watchtower Society effectively practices medicine
    by telling Jehovah's Witnesses which type of blood products they may accept and forbidding
    them from accepting others. Additionally, it is not a long stretch to see the similarity between
    teachers arguing with physicians and elders arguing with physicians.

    Ultimately, this is probably where the impetus to get the Watchtower Society out of the
    doctor/patient relationship will come from. It needs to be illegal.

    Food for thought.

    Warmest regards,

    Lee

  • Cygnus
    Cygnus

    Lee, you know I love you, man. You are one of the coolest human beings I know. Do what you gotta do.

  • Jeremy Bravo
    Jeremy Bravo

    I have read that in the Province of Quebec a law is in place that allows the doctor to decide if a minor will accept a blood transfusion or not, removing that power from uneducated parents and kids who may be brainwashed by a publishing company. (Please inform me if I am wrong).

    In principle, I have reservations about any law that removes the right of someone to decide what goes into their body. On the other hand, knowing what I know about the WTS blood policy I humbly submit that the ends of the law justify the means.

    I'm interested in the implications of laws such as these.

    Jer.

  • Lee Elder
    Lee Elder

    You're very kind. I hope that you and your wife are doing well.
    I'm sorry the meatheads in your local congregation came after
    you - maybe it doesn't really matter that much - the closure
    probably feels good.

    You look very young in your picture!

    What a plus that you figured all of this out before you spent
    the best years of your life slaving for a publishing company.

    Warmest regards,

    Lee

  • Lee Elder
    Lee Elder

    Hi Jeremy,

    I am not familiar with the Canadian laws. The kind of law I would support would be
    one that would prevent the WTS from practicing medicine and guarantee each
    JW a free choice in their medical care.

    Best regards,

    Lee

  • Mommie Dark
    Mommie Dark

    Lee said, "I was intrigued by a newsreport today concerning a new law passed
    in Connecticut that makes it illegal for principals, teachers, counselors and other
    school officials to recommend to parents that their children take psychiatric
    medication for behavioral or learning disorders. The law effectively prohibits
    school personnel from practicing medicine without a license. The law is the
    first of its kind in the U.S."

    It's about time! As a parent of two ADHD sons, I heartily applaud this legislation. I've been screaming about this since my kids were in school and I had to deal with various boneheaded academicians who think Ritalin is a magic bullet to miraculously control all sorts of non-comformist behavior in troubled kids. Teachers fatuously suggesting sotto voce to distraught parents that a trip to a certain pediatrician who is 'friendly' to 'these families' might get some instant relief in the form of those Mother's Little Helpers. Teachers and other school personnel getting downright shirty when informed that they are in fact giving medical advice to these families. I can't tell you the number of distraught parents I heard from during my activist years; a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and most school personnel have precious little actual knowledge about ADHD, although they fondly imagine that one in-service seminar on the disorder qualifies them as experts.

    There are a number of other neurological and emotional disorders that share certain symptoms with ADHD. Diagnosis is not simple, and ruling out all other causes of these symptoms is a job best left to the experts: in this case, ONLY a neurologist can diagnose ADD with or without hyperactivity. ADHD is a handicapping mental disability and only a qualified specialist should deal with diagnosis and treatment.

    There is no 'cure' for ADHD, and drug therapy doesn't work wonders for more than a small percentage of patients. A combination of intensive counseling, drug therapy, and classroom modifications to accomodate the child's handicap may result in success; however, school personnel not only try to railroad families to go for the fast fix, they tend to be downright hostile to kids who don't respond well to drug therapy alone, considering clinical suggestions for classroom modification to be interference in their province. They consider ADHD a behavioral disorder, environmental in nature, and refuse to acknowledge the actual physical mechanism that causes the brain dysfunction.

    I have known families where Ritalin and other stimulants did not have the desired effect; these kids are often subject to a roulette of antidepressants and other mood altering drugs, often at the insistence of harrassing school personnel, when in fact what they need is more classroom assistance and some multisensory reinforcement of lessons, nothing more.

    It's a volatile issue for those involved. I'm so happy Connecticut has taken this first step; I hope other states follow in short order. You would be appalled if a teacher told you your child needed surgery; why should you swallow other medical advice from a grade school principal or teacher?

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