Did anyone see the "trauma" show (about the E.R.) on Discovery Health last night? One of the stories featured was an elderly JW lady who had an accident and needed an emergency surgery. They showed the JW husband and an elder next to him in the waiting room as the docs went over what was acceptable and not acceptable to perform on his wife.
She ended up dying due to blood loss.
The end of the segment featured a mini-lecture by the JW elder there in the waiting room on the reasons for the JW stand, as well as a few thoughts from the doctors who simply accepted the fact that they could not interfere with the woman's choice.
One thing that I picked up was that when the docs went to consult with the husband and elder just before the emergency surgery, they presumed that blood could not be removed and later re-infused in the patient, but tried to confirm this. The husband and elder did not deny this...I suspect that they simply did not know that this could have been an option, as the HLC was no where in sight. I can't help but wonder if the doctors knew this, that the woman might have had a chance. Seems to me this could have been a case where the WTS's vagueness on its own policy could have cost a life...