# JW woman refuses blood, dies in childbirth **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 5, 2007, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299 "2007-11-05T15:53:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/1 "2007-11-05T15:53:02Z")
> [@](#): > > _A 22-year-old mother died just hours after giving birth to twins because doctors were forbidden from giving her a blood transfusion as a Jehovah’s Witness. > Emma Gough’s family, including her Jehovah’s Witness husband, Anthony, 24, refused to overrule her wishes and she died after losing blood._ > **[Jehovah's Witness mother dies after refusing blood transfusion](https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/nov/05/health.religion)** > > A young mother and Jehovah's Witness has died after giving birth because doctors were forbidden from giving her a blood transfusion. Really sad story ☹ It’s not yet 100% clear what happened, or whether a blood transfusion would have saved her, but it’s re-opened the debate in the UK about whether doctors etc should intervene against patients’ wishes in these cases. She had time to cuddle her babies before she died, but it’s sad to think that the twins will grow up without their mum when it could have been prevented with a blood transfusion. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/2 "2007-11-05T16:29:30Z")
Awwww, how sad. Poor babies. And the dad? I’m not sure what to think. I admire people whose convictions are that strong (if deluded, IMHO), but to let your wife die to satisfy them? I mean, I’d be totally pissed if someone overruled my wishes medically, but hey, I’d have to be alive to be pissed, right? I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/3 "2007-11-05T16:49:34Z")
It is a sad situation. I am curious how the father will choose to relay the circumstances to the children once they’re older. Will he add “treatable though sac religious” in front of “complications due to child birth” as the cause of her death? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/4 "2007-11-05T16:53:30Z")
[QUOTE=TroubleAgain] Awwww, how sad. Poor babies. And the dad? I’m not sure what to think. I admire people whose convictions are that strong… [/QUOTE] Stupidity is not a conviction and not worthy of anyone’s admiration. This woman deserves scorn to be heaped upon her, and anyone who considers her actions somehow noble or sacrificial ought to be beaten about the head repeatedly with a cricket bat. ---
**Author:** ![ASAKMOTSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@ASAKMOTSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASAKMOTSD)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/5 "2007-11-05T16:54:55Z")
Darwin? Party of Two… ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/6 "2007-11-05T16:59:43Z")
The kids should be taken from the father’s custody. Their lives are in danger due to his stupidity. What happens if they need some type of medical treatment? ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/7 "2007-11-05T17:00:42Z")
“We can’t believe she died in childbirth in this day and age, with all the technology there is,” says the best man. For crying in the night, what does he imagine is so magical about “this day and age” that the wonders of “technology” don’t actually have to be _applied_ to be effective? What an amazingly stupid POV. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/8 "2007-11-05T17:03:51Z")
I was under the impression that there were some alternative treatments if the patient decided against blood transfusions, an artificial plasma or something. Still, it’s tragic. I cannot comprehend the mindset that would consider something that harms no one and helps millions of people a year to be a sacriledge, indeed to be something so heinous it’s worth dying instead of doing. My brain just does not work in that direction. It was her call. I would be furious if it were someone I cared about, especially when two boys are left without their mother. They and the doctors are the ones I feel the most compassion for. Imagine, having a patient die when a single word would have allowed you to save their life with a century old medical technique. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/9 "2007-11-05T17:12:58Z")
[QUOTE=ASAKMOTSD] Darwin? Party of Two… [/QUOTE] Alas, she lived just long enough to pass on her genes. Did this woman actually think that accepting a blood transfusion would be a greater sin than _abandoning her newborn children?_ I hope the father loses his faith over this and raises the kids to be rational thinkers. At least then some good can come of this. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/10 "2007-11-05T17:13:55Z")
There was a big thing here a few years back in BC I think, where a teenage girl had Leukemia iirc and refused the blood transfusions because she (and her family) were JW. Just last year or the year before there were multiples who were born to a JW family and the government took custody of them for awhile, long enough to give them the necessary transfusions (though not until one of them died and I think another one still did die). I’d have to refresh my memory on what happened, but it always amazes me that people will refuse transfusions when it means a choice between life and death. I’d rather choose life! ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/11 "2007-11-05T17:15:29Z")
The only good that can come out of this is that someone will learn from it. I can’t grasp the level of delusion it would take to make that decision. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/12 "2007-11-05T17:53:02Z")
[QUOTE=jk1245] The kids should be taken from the father’s custody. Their lives are in danger due to his stupidity. What happens if they need some type of medical treatment? [/QUOTE] I believe that many JW’s do not require their children to avoid blood transfusions - it’s seen as a decision that an individual needs to make in adulthood. IANAL but I think courts in the UK have the power to order blood transfusions for children where their lives would be put at risk due to the religious beliefs of the parents. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/13 "2007-11-05T18:28:49Z")
A perfect illustration of “too stupid to live.” Hopefully those poor kids will learn the right lesson from her pathetic example. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingCowOfDoom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyingcowofdoom/32/21776_2.png) [@FlyingCowOfDoom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingCowOfDoom)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/14 "2007-11-05T19:13:18Z")
[QUOTE=jk1245] The kids should be taken from the father’s custody. Their lives are in danger due to his stupidity. What happens if they need some type of medical treatment? [/QUOTE] Amen. What other definition of child endangerment is there? –FCOD ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/15 "2007-11-05T19:24:26Z")
She’s an idiot. “You’ll win the next one, evolution. Nice try, though. _Almost_.” I feel sorry for those kids. ---
**Author:** ![Sunrazor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sunrazor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunrazor)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/16 "2007-11-05T19:28:27Z")
[QUOTE=Max the Immortal] Alas, she lived just long enough to pass on her genes. Did this woman actually think that accepting a blood transfusion would be a greater sin than _abandoning her newborn children?_ I hope the father loses his faith over this and raises the kids to be rational thinkers. At least then some good can come of this. [/QUOTE] Nope, she’ll be seen by the ultra-orthotox JWs as a martyr for the faith. The truly sad part is that blood transfusions are no longer officially banned by that church, only discouraged, and there is no official sanction or consequence for accepting them. There also is a reform group within the church working to eliminate the onus on blood transfusions. It’s an idiotic belief based on ancient Jewish dietary laws, but the JWs will no doubt justify it by saying she probably would have died anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/17 "2007-11-05T19:28:35Z")
I’m curious–do JWs allow transfusions of their _own_ blood? If they do, then it’s just pure brute stupidity that she didn’t arrange to have some blood drawn and put away before the birth. These things happen sometimes–better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. I think it’s pure brute stupidity in any case, but it’s not my call to make. There should be some allowance made for children, though–their health should not be put at risk because of their parents’ nutball religious beliefs (and I’m not just talking about JW here, but anything else in the same vein.) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/18 "2007-11-05T19:34:28Z")
[QUOTE=e-logic] I believe that many JW’s do not require their children to avoid blood transfusions - it’s seen as a decision that an individual needs to make in adulthood. IANAL but I think courts in the UK have the power to order blood transfusions for children where their lives would be put at risk due to the religious beliefs of the parents. [/QUOTE] Anecdote != data but I have a friend whose son was born prematurely and they did indeed refuse transfusions while he was in the hospital. He turned out OK, fortunately. IIRC, the parents had the hospital give him erythropoetin (sp?) which stimulates blood production. I think the hospital might have intervened with lawyers if that had not worked. ---
**Author:** ![percypercy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8baadc/32.png) [@percypercy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/percypercy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/19 "2007-11-05T20:44:16Z")
My mom’s a neonatologist. They do sometimes have to get court orders to give transfusions to JW babies. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2007, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299/20 "2007-11-05T20:52:57Z")
I don’t disagree with the prevailing sentiment in this thread, but I do want to point out that some people are less interested in living as long as possible than they are in acting in accord with their beliefs. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jw-woman-refuses-blood-dies-in-childbirth/425299.md?page=2)