Jehovah’s Witness mother dies after refusing blood
November 7, 2007
A young Jehovah’s Witness has died after giving birth to twins, amid claims that she had refused a blood transfusion because of her faith. Emma Gough, 22, of Telford, Shropshire, gave birth on 25 October. The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital said an internal review into the case would take place.
The twins, a boy and a girl, are healthy and are being cared for by their father, Anthony Gough, 24.
A friend said the family was going through “immense… turmoil and grief”.
“We follow the Bible and abstain from blood and I’ve got no reason to believe that Emma didn’t share those views,” the friend Terry Lovejoy added.
Christine Harris, a friend of Ms Gough’s mother-in-law Sham Gough, said: “The family have told me that a blood transfusion wouldn’t have saved Emma.”
Tom Taylor, chief executive of the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, said: “We have offered our deepest condolences to the family, and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.
“Because events such as this are so rare, it is normal practice to undertake a full internal review and also to inform the coroner so an inquest can take place.”
An inquest has been opened and adjourned for a date to be fixed.T.
Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse blood transfusions because they believe that God has forbidden it in the Bible. They believe that accepting a blood transfusion is a sin.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/shropshire/7078455.stm
Being a mother myself I find this unbelievable and reprehensible. The dad is only 24, now he has to care for his twin babies because it is against their religion to have blood transfusions? These babies have to grow up without the mother because of a verse in an ancient book full of mistakes?
This is sick and wrong on so many levels.
The god of the Jehovah’s finds it preferable that a mother die and leave her children without a stable family than accept a blood transfusion. Always handy to know where a particular deities priorities lie.
I cannot help but wonder how much comfort Bible verses are:
Isai 49:13 (KJS) Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
1Pet 5:7 (KJS) Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Reve 21:4 (KJS) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
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Misinterpreting the Old Testament prohibition against eating animal blood as a routine food item, the WatchTower Society began teaching in 1945 that receiving a blood transfusion was “eating human blood”. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that receiving an infusion of human blood into their body’s circulatory system is scientifically the exact same thing as eating or ingesting blood into their body’s digestive system. Paul Gilles recent comments during this tragedy in which he compared injecting alcohol into one’s veins (give me a break) to drinking alcohol proves that JWs still believe what the WatchTower Society published back in 1951:
“A patient in the hospital maybe fed through the mouth, through the nose, or through the veins. When sugar solutions are given intravenously it is called intravenous feeding. So the hospital’s own terminology recognizes as feeding the process of putting nutrition into one’s system via the veins. Hence the attendant administering the transfusion is feeding the patient through the veins, and the patient receiving it is eating through his veins.” — The WATCHTOWER magazine, July 1, 1951.
Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to acknowledge that when human blood is transfused into their body’s circulatory system that the transfused human blood remains to be human blood and continues to function as human blood. Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to acknowledge that if blood is eaten, then the ingested blood enters the body’s digestive system, where the blood would be treated by the body exactly the same as it would treat a hotdog, a potato chip, or any other food item. Ingested blood would be completely digested and broken down into proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and waste; which are then either assimilated or excreted by the body.
The WatchTower Society uses scriptures which speak about the blood of slaughtered animals to teach Jehovah’s Witnesses that blood is “sacred” because blood is the “symbol of life”. Then, the WatchTower Society turns around and requires Jehovah’s Witnesses to sacrifice their own “life” to maintain the alleged “sacredness” of a “symbol” of the very thing they are sacrificing — their life. Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to acknowledge that the WatchTower doctrine on blood moronically places a higher value on the SYMBOL than it does on the THING SYMBOLIZED.
In fact, the Old Testament scriptures permitted the eating of unbled animal meat, which the Bible treats exactly the same as eating animal blood itself. In isolated occasions, when humans needed to eat unbled meat in order to sustain their own human life, the Mosaic Law permitted such, but then required the eaters to fulfill the requirements of being “unclean” for a few days. Thus, the Bible recognized that the sustaining of human life was more “sacred” than maintaining the sacredness of animal blood. To do otherwise would be doing exactly what the moronic WatchTower Society does. It would make the SYMBOL more SACRED than the THING SYMBOLIZED.
In fact, the WatchTower Society is leading Jehovah’s Witnesses to disobey GOD and violate the Holy Scriptures in one of the most serious ways possible. Because humans were created in GOD’s image, GOD considers human life sacred. A Jehovah’s Witness who sacrifices their SACRED LIFE in order to maintain the sacredness of a SYMBOL of that SACRED LIFE varies little from those who profane life by committing suicide. Those Jehovah’s Witness Elders who teach and police this moronic doctrine vary little from common accessories to murder. The Bible is fairly clear in how GOD views murder, and how He deals with Murderers.
This moronic twisting of scripture would be laughable if not for the fact that it has lead to the pointless deaths of numerous Jehovah’s Witnesses in the past, and it will continue to lead to the pointless deaths of many more Jehovah’s Witnesses in the future.
The following website summarizes over 315 U.S. court cases and lawsuits affecting children of Jehovah’s Witness Parents, including 200+ cases where the JW Parents refused to consent to life-saving blood transfusions for their dying children:
DIVORCE, BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS, AND OTHER LEGAL ISSUES AFFECTING CHILDREN OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
http://jwdivorces.bravehost.com
Luci~
The bible verse that you quoted: “Reve 21:4 (KJS) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” was used at the memorial service for a baby that I miscarried in the summer of 2006. Now, this verse was supposed to comfort us, but all I kept thinking about was the irony. We were all in sorrow and crying, the babies that had miscarried (there was one service for all of the babies that had died that year) weren’t ever in pain that we know of. My baby just passed away. The heart just stopped beating. It never had sorrow or crying and I hope there was no pain. My family-my husband and I-were the ones dealing with it all. This is yet ANOTHER reason why I cannot in all good conscience follow the catholic faith.
Dear Recovering Catholic
My sincerest condolences to you and your husband and loved ones. You suffered an unimaginable loss and there is nothing anyone can say to make it better. I have two sets of friends who lost children and they told me they can only learn to live with the the loss, - it never gets better.
This article touched me so much; to think anyone can let a loved one die because of a Bible verse.
My heart goes out to you.
love
Lu
Everytime I hear of such an instance where someone has refused medical treatment on religious grounds I want to puke.
And yet alternately, I agree that someone should have that same right to refuse medical treatment if they have concluded that the treatment efforts themselves are not worth it to them, as in cases where the “cure” appears as bad as the condition, etc. Or in instances where these medical treatments are only attempts to prolong someone’s’ life at the cost of a significant diminishment in the quality of that life, and the person in question doesn’t accept this as justified.
As the title of one of my most favorite plays and movies asks: “Whose Life Is It Anyway?”
But the idea that JW’s don’t already “eat blood” is ridiculous. What do they think that red stuff is in the steaks and hamburgers they’re eating? If they want to truly avoid eating blood, they’d all become vegetarians.
Jerry Jones,
Very good comment, thank you!
Looks like Pascal ought to rethink his wager…
Jehovah’s Witnesses elders will investigate and disfellowship any Jehovah Witness who takes a blood transfusion,to say the issue is a ‘personal conscience matter’ is subterfuge to keep the Watchtower out of lawsuits.
Many Jehovah’s Witnesses men,women and children die every year worldwide due to blood transfusion ban.Rank & file Jehovah’s Witness are indoctrinated to be scared to death of blood.
FYI
1) JW’s DO USE many parts aka ‘fractions’ aka components of blood,so if it’s ’sacred’ to God why the hypocritical contradiction flip-flop?
2) They USE blood collections that are donated by Red cross and others but don’t donate back,more hypocrisy.
3) The Watchtower promotes and praises bloodless elective surgeries,this is a great advancement indeed.BUT it’s no good to me if I am bleeding to death from a car crash and lose half my blood volume and need EMERGENCY blood transfusion.
Know this,the reason that JW refuse blood is because of their spin on the 3000 year old Biblical old testament,modern medicine will eventually make blood donations and transfusions a thing of the past.When this technology happens it won’t vindicate the Jehovah’s Witnesses and all the deaths that have occured so far.
The Watchtower’s rules against blood transfusions will eventually be abolished (very gradually to reduce wrongful death lawsuit liability) even now most of the blood ‘components’ are allowed.
In 20 years there will be artificial blood and the Red Cross will go on with other noble deeds.
None of these changes will absolve the Watchtower leaders or vindicate their twisted doctrines
Are there dangers from blood?There are over 500 aspirin deaths in USA yearly.
—
Danny Haszard born 1957 3rd generation Jehovah’s Witness
Danny-
Thank you for your post. I couldn’t understand the reasoning behind her decision, and even though I still don’t (being a mom myself) at least you shed some light on it for me. Do you still practice? Or are you like me and just suffer from guilt because you don’t believe?
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bitch deserves to die if it keeps going maybe theyll die out
think positive ! hope her kids have cancer
Hi Pigeon
Actually I am speechless, and it does not happen often that I am at a loss for words.
I can only assume you have no children, no family, no friends, no pets, no loved ones.
To wish something like cancer on anyone is just beyond me
Lu