Jehovah's Witness - who would look after the children if her husband was dead............?

Question

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7078673.stm

I don't care what anyone says, putting your faith in ancient superstitious nonsense ahead of your own children is irresponsible.

If we all did that, the world would be full of feral children, with no adults to guide them, and eventually humans would likely become extinct.

Madness.

Answer 1

Death is unnatural, and saddens every reasonable person. It seems crass, however, to turn a tragic death into a platform for one's opinionated rantings.

Jehovah's Witnesses are well known for demonstrating extraordinary human kindness (see James 1:27).

This tragedy occurred nearly two weeks ago, on October 25, 2007. Despite what pro-blood activists and anti-Witness critics might pretend, her doctors informed the family that Mrs. Gough would have died even if she had received blood transfusions.

That's little consolation, but it is unsurprising.

During a hemorrhagic event, artificial expanders almost always work better than blood itself at keeping veins and arteries from collapsing. In addition, targeted treatment of specific blood fractions is considered preferable to old-fashioned "throw everything at it and see what sticks" thinking of whole blood transfusions. Of course, Jehovah's Witnesses generally accept artificial products and fractions derived from plasma, platelets, and red/white cells.

Since Jehovah's Witnesses only refuse whole blood and its four major components, doctors still have many many proven products and techniques. In fact, many or most doctors have come to prefer these products and techniques for ALL their patients.


It is not Jehovah's Witnesses who decide that blood is sacred. It is Almighty God who declares it so, as the Divine Author of the Holy Bible!

As God's spokesman and as Head of the Christian congregation, Jesus Christ made certain that the early congregation reiterated, recorded, and communicated renewed Christian restrictions against the misuse of blood.

Jehovah's Witnesses are not anti-medicine or anti-technology, and they do not have superstitious ideas about some immortal "soul" literally encapsulated in blood. Instead, as Christians, the Witnesses seek to obey the very plain language of the bible regarding blood.

As Christians, they are bound by the bible's words in "the Apostolic Decree". Ironically, this decree was the first official decision communicated to the various congregations by the twelve faithful apostles (and a handful of other "older men" which the apostles had chosen to add to the first century Christian governing body in Jerusalem). God and Christ apparently felt (and feel) that respect for blood is quite important.

Here is what the "Apostolic Decree" said, which few self-described Christians obey or even respect:

(Acts 15:20) Write them [the various Christian congregations] to abstain from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.

(Acts 15:28-29) For the holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you, except these necessary things, 29 to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper.


Quite explicitly, the Apostolic Decree plainly forbids the misuse of blood by Christians (despite the fact that nearly every other provision of former Jewish Mosaic Law was recognized as unnecessary). It seems odd therefore, that literally one Christian religion continues to teach that humans must not use blood for any purpose other than honoring Almighty God.

A better question would ask: How can other self-described Christian religions justify the fact that they don't even care if their adherents drink blood and eat blood products?


Jehovah's Witnesses recognize the repeated bible teaching that blood is specially "owned" by God, and must not be used for any human purpose. Witnesses do not have any superstitious aversion to testing or respectfully handling blood, and Witnesses believe these Scriptures apply to blood and the four primary components which approximate "blood". An individual Jehovah's Witness is likely to accept a targeted treatment for a targeted need, including a treatment which includes a minor fraction derived from plasma, platelets, and/or red/white blood cells.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/hb/index.htm?article=article_07.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/vcnb/article_01.htm

Answer 2

Though we may disagree with it, it was her belief, and she had the right to follow her beliefs.
In this country the law says that a person is free to follow whatever belief system they choose and the religious rights must be respected. It is different in some other countries where everyone must follow one religion. Imagine that?
Her children will be brought up by her husband, or other family members, with alot of help and support from the Jehovah's witness community.
She had the right to make her decision, and disagreeing with her now, when she's gone, is pointless and offensive to her and her family.

Also, they will accept an artificial blood that is available and works, it's not in use because it's 'too expensive'. So, if anyone's irresponsible, it's the government. Why couldn't she be given the artificial blood? A forward thinking country would have it available for such emergencies.

Answer 3

There is nothing in this article that states that the blood transfusion would not have saved her! NOTHING

This religion has in the past and is still tearing apart families all over the world with it's ridiculous rules. She was probably afraid to accept the blood because if she did she would have been disfellowshipped and would no longer be able to have contact with family and friends. She would have been cut off from her entire support group.

It's a shame that she chose her religion over her children. There is nothing that could ever be placed over my children!

This is a destructive, high control cult! I know because I was raised a JW, I walked away from that cult as soon as I turned 18 and have never regretted my decision.

Answer 4

What is madness is your quickness in believing things that are lies or false information.

If you had of read the whole BBC news article it said that a blood transfusion would NOT have saved her life anyway.

This means that the whole issue is mute.

Of course that wont stop the ones sensationalizing the whole thing and trying to hang the blame on the Jehovah Witnesses.

The fact is (and ALL people that have an operation must face) that sometimes things go wrong , and when they go wrong , there is often nothing that can be done.

Additionally it must also be recognized that Jehovah's Witnesses have fought hard for the medical rights and freedom that YOU yourself enjoy today.

Wake up . you might even learn something.

Answer 5

My question is where were the doctors. Why weren't they monitoring her blood loss? There are so many things that they should have and could have done. A Blood transfusion is not a panacea!! Did the Dr.s give her a uterotonic drug, such as oxytocin, after she delivered? Were they massaging the uterus after the birth? Did they pull on the placenta causing inversion of the uterus which results in profound blood loss?

What usually happens is the Doctors waste precious time arguing w/ people who refuse blood instead of just immediately treating them with alternatives.


http://www.planetwire.org/files.fcgi/3439_BPpph-Jn01e.pdf

Answer 6

GET OVER IT ALREADY!!!!!! The BIBLE says to abstain from blood. We don't just get some "crazy ideas in our head" like some of you may think. It's not some ancient superstitious nonsense. If she would have taken a blood transfusion, she would have sinned against Jehovah God and that would have been WORSE!!!!!!! Acts 15: 19, 20- "19 Hence my decision is not to trouble those from the nations who are turning to God, 20 but to write them to abstain from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood." See, it is as bad as FORNICATION, and IDOL WORSHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Acts 5: 29- "In answer Peter and the [other] apostles said: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men."
If you don't believe me, look it up in your own copy of the Bible.

Answer 7

Daily people are following their religion and killing not only themselves but innocent people, they are even teaching children to commit murder and sacrifice themselves all in the name of not only God but the same God as the people they are killing!
Jews and Muslims and Christians die every day and how many of them leave behind their children? Our soldiers in Iraq are not all single are they? Some of them are even Women!
I feel sorry for anyone who chooses to believe in a book written Centuries ago by some very old men!
If however they do then they should not pick and choose which parts to believe in and which to ignore! My mother was a witness and so I do know why they believe in certain things and unlike Catholics they are not encouraged to 'sin' and then ask for forgiveness for doing so!
This woman made her decision to Follow her 'Faith' and rightly or wrongly it was her choice to make! Though if YOU READ THE ARTICLE PROPERLY you'd find that a BLOOD TRANSFUSION WOULD NOT HAVE SAVED HER LIFE!
Personally I'd ban all religion, and then no child would be left Mother or Fatherless would they?
Of course man would still find reason to kill each other, and their would still be 'feral' children running around!

Answer 8

I cut my lip and accidentally swallowed a bit of blood. Is this a sin?

I can't believe that the family would rather watch their daughter die. I am so confused. Those poor children. I hope, in years to come, they shun the Jehovah's Witnesses in favour of a more sane religion...

Answer 9

I have no religious convictions one way or the other, but if I were faced with the decision to either die and leave my twins without a mother, or take a blood transfusion, I would have done the right thing, and survived, and asked God for forgiveness after the fact.

Don't the JW have "forgiveness" and "repent" in their vocabulary?

I don't understand, and would love an explanation, though, what's so wrong with blood transfusions? Sin does not follow the blood, and it is closely screened for any signs of disease before it is allowed into the stores.

Answer 10

The Jehovah Witness 'religion' is a cult, most of its beliefs are based upon poor translations between; Aramaic, ancient Hebrew, Hebrew, Latin, medieval English, and ultimately English.

They target susceptible people, brainwash them, and leave them with a nonsensical set of believes that tears families apart.

The ability to stick with and see through a set of deep felt beliefs is a good one but only if the foundations of those believes is a true foundation. Grass root followers of JW are deceived the JW hierarchy are deceivers.

Enough said.