According to Wikipedia… “Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the Bible prohibits ingesting blood and that Christians should therefore not accept blood transfusions or donate or store their own blood for transfusion. Watch Tower Society publications teach that the Witnesses’ refusal of transfusions of whole blood or its four primary components—red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma—is a** non-negotiable religious stand **and that those who respect life as a gift from God do not try to sustain life by taking in blood, even in an emergency.” (emphasis mine)
I have a few questions about this doctrine/belief:
Are there any other religions that have this particular belief?
If a JW is in a automobile accident and is unconscious when taken to the hospital, how do the doctor’s know they can’t perform a blood transfusion?
If the doctor’s somehow figure out that an accident victim is a JW would they let the person die if the only way to save them was with a blood transfusion? I realize there are some bloodless surgeries possible, but they don’t cover the gamut of possible injuries a JW may sustain, I don’t think.
When the JW accident victim wakes up and finds out he has been given a blood transfusion can he repent so that he is not disassociated from his congregation?
I’m not a JW, but wouldn’t it be similar to, say, a Catholic missing Mass because they were in the hospital? There might not be a sin at all or it might be of diminished seriousness because of the lack of the element of intent. At least in the Catholic Church, most or all sins involve an element of intent, knowledge, or recklessness, just as in secular criminal law where accidentally killing someone isn’t necessarily any offense at all, or if there is some culpability, it could be less than murder?
2) If a JW is in a automobile accident and is unconscious when taken to the hospital, how do the doctor’s know they can’t perform a blood transfusion?
If the doc’s don’t know the patients beliefs, they must act in the best interest of the patient.
**4) When the JW accident victim wakes up and finds out he has been given a blood transfusion can he repent so that he is not disassociated from his congregation? **
The person would normally not be ostracized if the incident were beyond their control. When we deliver the premature babies (who frequently need transfusions- sometimes as small as just 1 cc of blood) and we cannot get parental consent, we get a legal consent from a local Judge. The congregation understands that the event was beyond the control of the parent. If the mother who delivered the premature baby needs blood and refuses, we will provide whatever supportive care we can (IV fluids, red blood cell stimulants, stuff like that) but will respect their wishes and let them die if it comes to that. That covers some of your questions 3.
Medic alert bracelets for no blood products are about the only decisive way to stop an ER staff. Otherwise they are going to do what they feel is needed to preserve the life of the patient. Someone also better be handy to sign a nice AMA form so when the patient bleeds out and dies, it has been made damn clear that this is due to the patients wishes not that the ER staff just decided not to save this one.
Jews are also not allowed to ingest blood, but this has been interpreted to mean through the mouth. So kosher meat has been bled as much as possible and some of the residual blood extracted with salt and so on. Kosher killing is also designed to get as much bleeding as possible.
But none of this is interpreted as referring to transfusion. And life-saving transcends all.
I attended a lecture one by a medical ethicist (and doctor) who claimed that JW’s “want” to be “forced” to take blood products by a judge’s order, or a doctor who just does it while they’re unconscious. His claim was that this absolved them, in the eyes of their Kingdom Hall, of the stain of sin because they tried to protest and rejected the blood and it was forced on them anyway.
He has a lot more experience than I do, but I’m skeptical. I have two JW people as long term nursing patients at the moment, and I honestly do believe that both of them would rather die than receive blood. One of them is very anemic, and has been for years. She can’t even get out of bed now, she’s so weakened by her anemia. This could be addressed pretty well with a simple blood transfusion, but she’s consistent and adamant in her refusal.
We’ve had a lot of discussions about her faith over the last few months as she’s preparing to die, and I see no indication at all that she’s being coy. She really does believe the JW teachings at face value. She’s not looking for a loophole, she’s trying to be a good JW because it brings her inner peace to do so. I feel I have to respect that. I didn’t become a nurse to make people do what I’d do in their place; I became a nurse to be an advocate for a person so that doctors and nurses will do what they want. It’s her body, after all, and her life. It’s also her death. But unlike some people, she doesn’t see her death as a tragedy. So who am I to say otherwise?
I can’t quite find the source for this other than something I read about, but several years ago, the Watch Tower society quietly dropped the official transfusion position (apparently, the organization would liable for wrongful deaths.). OTOH, they’ve not really made the effort inform their members of this change.
I can only speak for the Jehovah’s Witnesses in my family, but the answer is a qualified “yes”. You have to understand that within this belief system, the dead will be resurrected, so death isn’t quite the hardship that it would be for, say, an atheist. As for “why be a part,” understand that if you are raised in the religion, it is not an easy faith to leave.* Read up on it; I don’t think I’m eloquent or experienced enough to communicate the hardships of having all of your friends and loved ones turn their back on you forever. Every generation, some in my family leave and some stay, and it’s made for a lot of unhappiness. That, in turn, reinforces the commitment of those who stay, because they have to make themselves believe they’ve done the right thing in choosing God over parents / siblings / children.
*As for “why convert to JW-ism,” I’m too emotionally invested to give a GQ answer, but there is a lot of more neutral information out there.
The people who I’ve known who have converted (and that current anemic patient is one of them) it really seems to boil down to…everyone is so nice. Everyone at the Kingdom Hall is warm and inviting and loves you. It’s your family. When you go as an interested observer, you’re welcomed in with open arms and overwhelming feelings of acceptance.
Which, really, is a beautiful thing. I’ve been there, not with JW, but with a neopagan group. It’s a truly heady experience. You suddenly feel like you fit. Like you have a place on this earth made just for you. You have a purpose. You feel loved. Simple as that, really. You feel loved. And it’s like a drug.
Ever fallen in love with a person? Ever notice how the things that drive you f’ing crazy about a person when you’ve been with them for 10 years were things that endeared you to them when you met? “He’s so cute and funny!” turns into, “He’s always got to be the center of attention!” You are simply incapable of feeling fault. You may think you’re taking notes of their faults, and you can talk about their faults, but you don’t really feel their faults. They don’t make you step back and think critically about this relationship and whether this person is a good long-term match for you. Your friends, on the outside of all this, see it. They may even warn you about it. But when did you ever listen to your friends as you were falling in love?
Same thing when you fall in love with a religious community. You may notice they’re disorganized, but it doesn’t matter, because that’s just how they are. You may make note that this blood thing is a little strange, but it’s just one of those things. And the more times you hear something, the less crazy it sounds. Over time (sometimes a short time), you’re around the groupthink long enough that it feels like your own think.
It’s love. Religion IS love, the Christians got that part right. It’s what done to people under the influence of love that scares me sometimes.
According to Wikipedia… “Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the Bible prohibits ingesting blood and that Christians should therefore not accept blood transfusions or donate or store their own blood for transfusion. Watch Tower Society publications teach that the Witnesses’ refusal of transfusions of whole blood or its four primary components—red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma—is a** non-negotiable religious stand **and that those who respect life as a gift from God do not try to sustain life by taking in blood, even in an emergency.” (emphasis mine)
I have a few questions about this doctrine/belief:
As someone pointed out up thread, the Jews do not ingest blood based on an OT admonition.
Most JWs have “medical directives” that are most often on their person. Similar directives are reasonably common among non-JWs for other medical reasons, religious beliefs, “do not resuscitate” orders and so on. There are also families present who would speak in behalf of the patient. Lastly, JWs have hospital liaison committees that will visit the hospital to assist the doctor understand JW beliefs. Clearly though, just like a “do not resuscitate” order speaks for an injured and unconscious patient, a medical directive is the most important tool in asserting your right to self-determination.
That’s a question that is directed to the doctors/ medical community. But if a person has a clearly stated religious belief, and it is appropriately filled out and present, I can’t see why the doctors on site should have any objections or liability.
Absolutely not. He is not disassociated in any way. Would you need to repent if you were raped?
So how is a doctor that is following a patient’s JW medical directive not assisting in a suicide? Assuming, of course, the patient dies as a result of not getting a simple blood transfusion that would otherwise have saved their life?
Can someone get a medical directive to refuse any and all medical care and then take a bottle full of pills?
With all due respect, that’s a bizarre answer. Surely you know what suicide is, right?
With this logic, anyone enlisting in the US Army------especially in light of the plain reality that deployment to Afghanistan or Iraq is likely-----is committing suicide, and anyone helping them is assisting a suicide.
This whole blood transfusion controversy has always mildly puzzled me. It is an accepted part of almost all cultures that there are things worth giving your life for.
Churches regularly have ceremonies celebrating the life of a soldier who “gave his life for his country.” And not just Churches; secular society places a great value on the life given for some greater good.
We would never simply state that any soldier wants to die. We know the soldier wants to serve his/her country and return home to family, work etc.
JWs do not want to die. They assert no “right to die.” They are as interested in getting the very best medical care they possibly can----within the limited constraints of their beliefs.
What JWs are asserting is the same right everyone would want----the legal right to self-determination; the right to practice their religion without interference.
I’ve always found it mildly ironic when people of all religious stripes implicitly acknowledge that God is superior to Country, and while it is a noble thing to die for your flag/constitution/political ideals/“freedom”*** it is somehow offensive to die for your God.
In other words, the issue isn’t that a person is willing to die for something they believe in. Even in western society we accept that there things worth giving your life for. The controversy comes in when you’re willing to give up your life for a value that I disagree with.
***And not just noble to die, but to kill in the process, even if it means killing other Christians.
There was a very high-profile and controversial trial several years ago in Southern California over this issue, which I think made national headlines and was closely watched. (Sorry, no cite, but maybe I’ll be able find something to put in a later post.)
A drunk driver hit a JW woman. She was in the hospital for some time, in life-threatening condition. The doctors said she needed blood or she would die. The driver was charged with felony DUI with whatever additional charges they add when a person is actually injured. The woman steadfastly refused blood, and her husband supported her in that.
She eventually died. The charges against the driver were upgraded to felony DUI murder. The defendent (and his lawyer) claimed that he should not be charged with murder because of the woman’s religious choice to refuse blood. The case became wildly controversial.
The prosecutors persisted with their murder charge. The case went to trial. The jury convicted the driver of the murder charge.
I’ll see if I can dredge up some cites . . . This was some years ago.
