The sad reality for Jehovah's Witness children who must depend upon the courts to get critical medical care their parents reject for them, even when their lives depend upon it. Why? To support the irrational blood policy of the Watchtower Society.
Sickle Cell Case
by Lee Elder 17 Replies latest watchtower medical
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smiddy3
I`m finding it hard to get my head around how religious beliefs in this day and age over-ride professional medical staff for the safety and well being of minors in life and death situations .
The medical profession must have legal representatives looking after their interests so I fail to understand why in the whole world where this situation rears its ugly head from time to time ,that the WTB&TS has not been called out on this issue .
Its common knowledge on this board the hypocrisy,double standards,contradictions flip flops ,etc.of the Blood Ban,and what is acceptable and what is not acceptable ,Fractions and what you can use and what you cant use ,the fact that JW`s say that Blood should be poured out on the ground and not used for any purpose ,and yet they do all of the above except donate blood of their own but are quite happy to use blood products that are donated by non JW`s..Plus the fact that bovine products are also acceptable to them.
Surely a lawyer worth his salt should be able to make mince meat of the WT claims about the Claim that the Bible prohibits Blood Transfusions for the reasons they state and not have to go through courts to get the much needed medical treatment.
Freedom of Religion ? O.K. A person should have the right to practice his or her religion without interference except when the life of a minor is involved,or some such wording to protect the child from their parents.
Adults can take the consequences of their actions ,but dont impose this on your own children .
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smiddy3
Three Jehovah`s Witness families taken to court to save these children`s lives because their parents apparently love JW.ORG more than their children .
And so far nobody else has made a comment ?
I refer to a previous post about Blood and the law
Kerry Louderback Whttp://ajwrb.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/blood-misrepresented-2005-kerry-louderback-wood-1.pdfood and her thesis
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Lee Elder
It is rather surprising. This topic just doesn't seem to get anywhere near the attention you'd think it would.
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OrphanCrow
Lee: This topic just doesn't seem to get anywhere near the attention you'd think it would.
This topic has been going on for so long that it isn't "news" anymore. Just another kid(s) not getting blood when they need it.
The first court case involving a JW child being denied blood happened in 1951. The number of court cases involving JW children since that time is astronomical - it has never stopped.
There are pages and pages of court cases, involving children and blood, listed on this site: https://jwdivorces.bravehost.com/
And a good article concerning children and blood refusal: https://adc.bmj.com/content/90/7/715#ref-13
It is sad that this ruling, in Prince vs Massachusetts 1944, hasn't been held as a standard by the WTS:
“Parents may be free to become martyrs themselves. But it does not follow that they are free, in identical circumstances, to make martyrs of their children...”
The WTS/org has always just ignored that ruling. They don't care. They don't care about children - they advocate child sacrifice. Barbaric.
I noticed that this article concerns Africa. And sickle cell disease. Africa, where the org is claiming "growth", has a high incidence of sickle cell disease. It is horrifying to think of how many more articles we are going to read about children needing a blood transfusion to alleviate their excruciating pain and the JW parents refusing. This isn't the same as a person maybe requiring blood during a surgical procedure - these children will suffer unbearably without blood - daily. Until they die. In pain. Horrible pain.
Whenever I hear of yet another child not getting a blood transfusion when they need it, I always think of this image - from that old Paradise book
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smiddy3
This topic has been going on for so long that it isn't "news" anymore. Just another kid(s) not getting blood when they need it.
Isn`t that an indictment on us as ex JW`s that we have become complacent about this issue simply because its not news anymore because its been going on for so long ?
And kids who have no voice of their own die because their parents belong to a religious cult ?
Shouldn`t we be their voice in some way ?
I really don`t know what the answer is ,maybe a petition to the UN signed by all ex-JW sites? I dont know
its sad in this day and age that religion is still off limits when they should be accountable for their actions in enforcing doctrines on their members that are harmful and could result in death especially to children.
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Bobcat
Marked.
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OrphanCrow
smiddy: Isn`t that an indictment on us as ex JW`s that we have become complacent about this issue simply because its not news anymore because its been going on for so long ?
I don't know. I think it is more a statement on the effectiveness of the org's blood propaganda machine.
Seventy years of relentless hammering at the medical profession and the legal profession by an organization that has their own agenda to push has made the JW blood refusal just another part of medical culture. Don't forget that the org has been proselytizing to doctors since the 50s, keeping detailed records on doctors in much the same way that the sheep keep records on their house to house work. The HLC are important special pioneers. And they have done their job well - they have established a bloodless cult that hides behind the skirts of the mama cult. The tentacles run long and deep right around the world.
It is this ruling, Prince vs Massachusetts, that needs to be enforced:
“Parents may be free to become martyrs themselves. But it does not follow that they are free, in identical circumstances, to make martyrs of their children...”
The org has no intention of abiding by that ruling - they never have and they never will. For a sample of how they prepare children for being blood martyrs, this is the document that elders receive - "How Parents Can Protect Their Children From Misuse of Blood":
https://faithleaks.org/wiki/documents/9/97/S-55-E_10.pdf
That document is disgusting. I get ill when I read it. It tells elders how to instruct parents on how to instruct their children about how to turn themselves into an individual with a rare blood disorder. A blood disorder that they weren't born with - they acquire it by following these directions. Directions on how to martyr children. Turn them into subjects with a blood disorder - a blood disorder that is dependent upon what the org tells them is wrong with them and what part of blood they are allowed to take.
This document should be illegal. But it isn't. Cause freedom of religion and patient's rights and...blah, blah, blah... It is a horrible document full of loaded language and persuasive terms rather than reason. They call it "reason" but it is anything but - you know the story of the tuna fish sandwich and the skunk...
The org should have a black box warning attached to it - "joining this cult will require a commitment to die for it" and this one too - "not to be administered to children under 18"
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OrphanCrow
Smiddy, I know that you want to do something about JW children not getting blood transfusions.
Here is a suggestion. See if you can find a way to contact the author of the article in the OP. I did some digging around but only found her twitter account. She has written more than one article about these cases.
https://twitter.com/NivashniNair/status/1070285344367673345
I think it could be beneficial to put the above document "How Parents Can Protect Their Children From Misuse of Blood", into the public eye. From the blurb at the top of the document, it has the appearance of being only internal:
Elders may make a copy of this document for their personal use. However, no copies should be made for anyone else.
The journalist might be interested in seeing how the blood policy is controlled from the top down.
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OrphanCrow
Another article, by a different journalist, pertaining to the same three children:
https://www.iol.co.za/mercury/news/parents-fight-kids-blood-transfusions-18404847