WTS Double Standard on the Blood Issue

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Here's a few quotes from the WTS website concerning blood:

I won't bore you with the entire article; I'll just list the things that caught my eye.

http://www.watchtower.org/library/hb/index.htm

How Can Blood Save Your Life?

You Have the Right to Choose

Each competent physician likely considered risks and benefits, but now you have to weigh the risks and possible benefits, as well as other factors that you best know. (You are in the best position to consider such aspects as your emotional or spiritual strength, family finances, effect on the family, and your own ethics.) Then you make a choice. Possibly you give informed consent for one therapy but decline the other.

This would also be so if it was your child that had the chronic tonsillitis. The risks, benefits, and therapies would be outlined for you, the loving parents who are most directly affected and who will be responsible to cope with the results. After considering all aspects, you can make an informed choice on this matter involving your child's health and even his or her life. Perhaps you consent to the surgery, with its risks. Other parents might choose the antibiotics, with their risks. As physicians differ in their advice, so patients or parents differ as to what they feel is best. Such is an understood feature of making informed (risk/benefit) choices.

YOUR RIGHT IS RECOGNIZED

In many places today, the patient has an inviolable right to decide what treatment he will accept. "The law of informed consent has been based on two premises: first, that a patient has the right to receive sufficient information to make an informed choice about the treatment recommended; and second, that the patient may choose to accept or to decline the physician's recommendation. . . . Unless patients are viewed as having the right to say no, as well as yes, and even yes with conditions, much of the rationale for informed consent evaporates."?Informed Consent?Legal Theory and Clinical Practice, 1987.*

Some patients have encountered resistance when they have tried to exercise their right. It might have been from a friend having strong feelings about a tonsillectomy or about antibiotics. Or a physician might have been convinced of the rightness of his advice. A hospital official might even have disagreed, based on legal or financial interests.

Naturally, all parents make decisions affecting their children's safety and life: Will the family use gas or oil to heat the home? Will they take a child on a long-distance drive? May he go swimming? Such matters involve risks, even life-and-death ones. But society recognizes parental discretion, so parents are granted the major voice in nearly all decisions affecting their children.

These are just a few comments. Go to the link for the entire article.

The WTS gives a lot of information on the patients rights and the parents rights as far as the government, hospitals and doctors are concerned when it comes to a JW wanting to NOT take blood, but those rights go right out the window the second a JW decides that a blood transfusion is the best option available for themself of their child.

This smacks of a double standard to me. The WTS telling everyone that JWs should not be osctrasized for refusing blood, but then kicking members out and shunning them when they do take blood.

outoftheorg

IF THE WBTS REALLY WANTS TO PROMOTE THE RIGHTS OF PATIENTS AND FATHERS AND MOTHERS CONCERNING CHILDREN.

THEN WHY ARE THERE LIAISON "OFFICERS" FROM THE WBTS THERE IN THE ROOM WITH THEM.

THEY ARE THERE TO MAKE SURE THE JW FOLLOWS THE RULES AND REPORT THEM IF THEY DON'T

Outoftheorg

A Paduan

Will the family use gas or oil to heat the home?

Will we kill our children if stories about that imaginary beast make us frightened?

XQsThaiPoes

The hlc brothers don't care if you take blood or not their only real job is to do pr and make sure the wts is not liable. So weither you get blood or not depends on what the brach wants not you. So you may be forced to take blood if they feel it would damage their legal standing if you died.

Thats the tragedy. You can't do what you need or your child need, you have to do what they need. It is sickening when they try to deprogram a person that was intent on abstaining from blood. Where is the crediblity? Do you want people to abstain from blood or don't you?

I have the new blood DVD it clearly in medical terms (over the head of most JWs including JW nurses I know) tells the doctors when they should give JWs blood transfusions. Now why on earth would a video serise suppossedly about transfusion alternatives basically say in fancy speak when their blood count gets bellow this mark transfuse them. So what are the doctors to do when they get to that point in real life? "Well the video says now that your below this mark to transfuse you." Oh wait... thats the same practice they use every day with their non jw patients . What gives?

XQsThaiPoes

Oh I get it the "strong" witnesses will abstain totally from blood and may die. The "weak" ones will get some type of transfussion. The minors will still be a football for the branch offices to play with because they have to do what ever the watchtower's lawyers decide the local powers that be demand.

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XQsThaiPoes

I have the new blood DVD it clearly in medical terms (over the head of most JWs including JW nurses I know) tells the doctors when they should give JWs blood transfusions.

What DVD is this? Is there any way of getting a copy?

Regards,

Ken

XQsThaiPoes

My dad is the literature overseer (new rank for MSes I guess because even he had never heard of it) so i could send you one.

It is called the transfussion alternatives series Ill look at the box to get exact wording of the title if you want.

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XQsThaiPoes ,

It is called the transfussion alternatives series Ill look at the box to get exact wording of the title if you want.

Thanks, I didn't realise it was a new WT publication. If you can get the exact name, I'll see if I can get it locally.

Regards,

Ken

kwintestal

You know my wife was talking the other day about a public talk about blood. It stated that with all the new medical advances, that it's hard to DEFINE what is actually blood once some procedure is done to it. Basically, if you take one component out of the blood...is it still blood? I guess their leaving that "up to your concience" (we're changing our policy) on this now. However she stated that the point was made at the talk NOT TO TALK ABOUT THIS WITH OTHER JW'S because you don't want to influence their decision. What a crock.

Kwin

XQsThaiPoes

Kwin nail on head basically jws can take basicaly anthing that is not whole blood, but you can't talk to other jws. it is basically don't ask don't tell. At our hall the PO made it very clear this polict is between you, God, and your DR.

WTS Double Standard on the Blood Issue

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