Interesting conversation at work last Friday

cruzanheart

The wife of one of our lawyers is a judge here in Dallas, and I overheard her husband telling a couple of other lawyers about this really tough case she has right now: deciding to issue a court order to give blood to premature twins whose parents are Witnesses. I popped in with "I'm an ex-JW -- ask me anything" so he and I started talking about the blood issue. The father of the twins was in tears in the courtroom -- NOT because of his babies getting blood BUT BECAUSE HE WAS AFRAID HE WOULD BE ACCUSED OF GIVING HIS CONSENT TO THE BLOOD TRANSFUSION. The judge assured him that it was her decision, not the father's, and I think he was comforted in the thought that he would not be blamed for it. (Meanwhile a hell of a lot of time is being wasted that could be used to treat these tiny babies.) The lawyer I was talking to said that the parents didn't have a lawyer present but that there were "some guys" there, and I asked "Hospital Liaison Committee?" and he said, yes, that's it -- what are they? I told him that the HLC is a group of elders, a great many of them uneducated window-washers and janitors, who are given the authority to speak for parents on the subject of refusing blood and who were there to make sure the dad didn't agree to something for which he could be disfellowshipped. He thought the whole thing was bizarre, especially after I explained disfellowshipping.

What a whacked-out belief system. And I stayed in it for 46 years. Amazing.

Nina

candidlynuts

awww i hope the babies do ok.. the fathers feelings show how so many are afraid , not of offending God, but of offending the elders/organization and being df'd. that fear of MAN may mean death for those babies. a sad sad situation.

pepheuga

: all uneducated window-washers and janitors

whoops, i'll go crawl back under my shell then.....

pepheuga

xenawarrior

What a sad story indeed Nina!

And I stayed in it for 46 years. Amazing.

And the truth about "the truth" shall set you free!

wednesday

Nina,

that is so bizarre b/c Friday I was on the phone with one of the elders wives in that Liaison committee. I know several members of it. She was so proud her husband . I feel like I'm i a bizarro world sometimes.

It was those premie babies, she said premature babies.

weds

cruzanheart

Pepheuga, I'm sorry -- that statement was a broad generalization (like "all apostates are bad") and I shouldn't have made it, but I was kind of mad that the family feels confident (or bullied) enough by the elders in the Hospital Liaison Committee that the parents would trust them over legal counsel.

Nina

TMS

Despite all the lip service given to conscience, Bible principles, pleasing Jehovah, etc., the main concern is not being disfellowshipped. I "served" on the Hospital Liaison Committee a number of years ago. If a phone call to our contact at Brooklyn said a procedure was acceptable, whether it be autotransfusion (recycling the patient's own blood) or a blood component, the JW patient or parent immediately endorsed the idea. If the decision is taken out of the parent's hands by court order there is much public anguish, but privately some relief that the parent fought as hard as they could and won't be disfellowshipped.

The whole process is skewed and subject to the current rulings of the hierarchy at Brooklyn.

tms

pepheuga

: I'm sorry -- that statement was a broad generalization...but I was kind of mad

Nina - ah yes, the "sooooo angry" frame of mind. been there myself. recently! *shame*. all is forgiven Nina, wish i'd never brought it up now.

pepheuga

Buster

So this clown (no intended offense to clowns) has twin babies that are in need of medical treatment, and he's worried about the BigBrother (HLC) standing behind.

That knid of mind control makes me sick to my stomach. To think that I, like most of us here, took it - hook, line, and sinker.

Disgusting.

cruzanheart

Don't be sorry, peph! I appreciated you pointing that out. I don't want to be as guilty as the Witnesses of lumping people into categories.

Or, to quote Seinfeld, "not that there's anything wrong with that!"

Hugs,

Nina

Interesting conversation at work last Friday

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