How Parents Can Protect Their Children
From Misuse of Blood
Table of Contents
Protect Children—Spiritually and Medically 3-9
Protect Children—Legally 10-20
Trust in Jehovah 21-22
1. Elders should be alert to review these points with parents whose preteen or adolescent child is facing a medical problem that could require the parents to take a stand on the misuse of blood. Appropriate points may also be shared when elders learn that a married couple is expecting a child. (See also Information for Expectant Mothers [S-401].) Elders may make a copy of this document for their personal use. However, no copies should be made for anyone else.(...for obvious reasons of course since these could easily become ammunition in the wrong hands and make Watchtower look like a nasty cult)
2. God-fearing parents view their children as a precious gift from Jehovah. They keenly feel their God-given responsibility to train and protect this treasured inheritance. (Ps. 127:3; Eph. 6:4) Having this Biblical view, parents promptly seek appropriate medical care when their children are sick. In seeking medical care, however, blood transfusion may become an issue.What reasonable steps can parents take to protect their children from this misuse of
blood?—Eccl. 9:11.
PROTECT CHILDREN—SPIRITUALLY AND MEDICALLY
3. Firm conviction is vital because a well-meaning doctor may adamantly claim that blood will improve a child’s condition.
4. Parents must be firmly resolved to ‘abstain from blood’ by refusing it for their child. (Acts 15:28, 29; Deut. 12:23, 25) Early on, they should make all health-care providers aware of their nonnegotiable stand and of their willingness to accept nonblood alternatives.
5. Parents should also help their children to develop their own conviction and to defend their faith if faced with the prospect of a transfusion. (1 Pet. 3:15) This is important because some physicians may agree to respect the treatment decisions of minors who have demonstrated sufficient maturity to make their own medical choices. Some courts have upheld the rights of such minors to do so.—w08 10/1 pp. 30-31; w91 6/15 pp. 15-18; km 12/05 p. 6.
6. Parents should take steps to find a cooperative doctor. Consult with the local Hospital Liaison Committee (HLC) early on in the search for a physician and a medical facility with a good record of respecting our stand on blood and using nonblood alternatives for Witness children. In some countries, parents may have the right to request a copy of their child’s medical records. The medical records may give the parents a clearer picture of their child’s
medical condition and help them in their search for a cooperative doctor.
7. A good health-insurance policy is practical where possible and can often allow treatment options that might not otherwise be available.—Luke 16:8.
8. Physicians or hospitals, based on their medical or legal understanding, may not give 100 percent assurance that they will not use blood when treating young children, infants, and prematurebabies.Nevertheless, when a cooperative doctor has performed similar procedures without blood in the past, he may assure parents that he will do everything he can to avoid using blood. Under this circumstance, parents may conclude that this is their best option.If they grant permission for treatment, parents should make it clear in writing that they are not authorizing a blood transfusion for their child. Parents bear the responsibility for such decisions,
and this would not be viewed by the congregation as a compromise. (Gal. 6:5) Parents have the right to cross out any objectionable language on hospital forms. (g91 3/8 pp. 5-6)
Parents should also make clear in writing that their refusal of blood does not mean that they are refusing medical treatment or care in general for their child.
9. Prospective mothers should endeavor to seek good prenatal care during pregnancy. This helps prevent premature births and helps to identify other potential risks during delivery that often lead to blood transfusion. The HLC can help locate obstetricians and gynecologists
who are skilled in using alternatives to blood.—g 11/09 pp. 26-29.
PROTECT CHILDREN—LEGALLY
10. A wise parent anticipates court involvement, especially in countries where the law does not give parents unlimited medical decision-making authority to accept or refuse treatment for their children. Regardless of the parents’ sincerely held religious beliefs, they may not be free to choose transfusion-alternative strategies if doctors consider a blood transfusion necessary
for their child’s welfare.
11. If doctors and hospital personnel do not have parental consent to use blood, they may seek consent from a judge in the form of a court order. Many court orders are obtained very quickly with little or no notice to the parents.
12. As natural guardians of the child, parents have a fundamental right to know what doctors, hospital administrators, and child-welfare officials are doing with respect to their child at all
times. If parents have reason to believe that a court order may be forthcoming, they should advise all social workers and hospital personnel that they want notice of any court proceeding so that they can have an opportunity to be heard.
13. How can a parent deal with the court proceeding? If there is time, it is often advisable to seek the help of an attorney. If the parent secures an attorney, the organization’s Legal Department can share information with him to help him make a reasonable and appropriate legal defense for the circumstances.
14. A judge’s paramount concern is the physical welfare of the child. The judge needs to see that the parents are not neglectful or abusive but are loving parents who want their child to receive the best medical care.
15. Parents can inform the court that they are refusing blood on deeply held religious
grounds but should make it clear that they are not refusing medical care for their child. This judicial setting may not be an appropriate time for parents to mention their strong faith in the resurrection, as this may be misconstrued by the judge and make them appear unreasonable.(=that's an interesting point as they realise that thry now deal more and more with secular institutions that view "resurrection" as a crazy belief for deluded cult members that seek to turn their children into martyrs)
16. Parents can also inform the court that they want to protect their child from the serious risks associated with blood transfusions. They can inform the judge that they would like an opportunity to find a doctor who will treat the child with acceptable methods of nonblood
management. The Hospital Liaison Committee (HLC) (=or more commonly known as annoying strangers hanging over your deathbed)may already have helped them find such a doctor who will testify in court, perhaps by telephone. The HLC may also share with the judge medical articles that show that the child’s medical problem can be effectively managed without blood.
17. If a mature adolescent is involved, parents can request that the hospital evaluate his decision-making capacity. Request that the court hear from the child prior to making its decision.Often, courts have accorded mature adolescents the legal right to make their own
medical choices.(= there is film on Netflix which I highly recommend called Chidren Act which is based on a fictional story of an adult jw adolescent visited by the judge in hospital so the judge can make her mind over the wishes and convictions of the teenager.Its a great film that exposes the madness of the HLC committees and the lengths the system will go to protect young people from the vampires of the Watchtower machine)
18. A well-prepared defense in court is important. This may help judges to see more clearly the parents’ point of view. They may not be so quick to authorize a transfusion. They may restrict the doctor’s freedom to use blood, even requiring alternatives first or giving the parents
an opportunity to find doctors who will treat the child without blood.
19. In dealing with those seeking to force a transfusion, parents should never waver in their convictions. Some judges or doctors may ask if the parents would “transfer” the responsibility of making a decision to them so that the parents could more easily live with their conscience.Parents should make it clear that they personally feel an obligation toward their child to avoid a transfusion in their child’s medical treatment.(= That's an interesting point too as it looks like parents have used this loop hole of getting out of the responsibility of making a decision, who can blame them? When you're watching your child dying pleasing the Watchtower should be the last of your priorities.But yet again the Watchtower is making clear that jw parents can not use that loophole anymore, the quaranteed death of their offspring should be their number one priority)
20. If a court order that permits blood transfusions is issued, continue to ask the physician not to transfuse and continue to urge that nonblood alternative treatments be utilized.
TRUST IN JEHOVAH
21. Remember the counsel at Proverbs 16:20. Parents show insight and trust in Jehovah by making necessary preparations in advance to protect their child from a blood transfusion. Conscientious elders will encourage and support parents in this endeavor.
22. May parents and children “be firmly resolved not to eat the blood . . . that it may go well with [them]” because of having Jehovah’s blessing and approval.—Deut. 12:23-25.
S-55-E 3/22
A MORE BALANCED VIEW ON BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS
A well known Christian website "www.gotquestions.org" made the following valid point I never thought before:
"Is it acceptable for a Christian to receive or give a blood transfusion? Since the Bible does not explicitly say, a decision of this nature can only be made between a person and God. One consideration might be that God created billions of people over the centuries, but only four blood types, making it possible to transfuse blood from one person to another, regardless of race or nationality. Perhaps this is an argument for the legitimacy of blood transfusions. A person should carefully and prayerfully consider what God would have him do in regards to receiving/giving a blood transfusion. There is no command either way in Scripture. Blood transfusions are, therefore, a matter of conscience."
Of course we now understand the sinister obsession of the Watchtower to refuse jws blood transfusions on the basis of selected verses and their missaplication ,it is not about adhering to correct doctrine rather a covert operation on a worldwide scale for modern day blood sacrifices to their God Molech.
This is not the first time those claiming to serve Jehovah God have felt compelled to offer up their children as a sacrifice. Israelites who also served Molech were no doubt deeply touched when called upon to make their sacrifice. How did God view such child sacrifice? The Bible tells us: And they have built the high places of To'pheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hin'nom, in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart. (Jeremiah 7:31) Anyone who questions whether or not this really is happening in the Jehovah's Witness community need only check the May 22, 1994 Awake magazine where these children are hailed as martyrs and where the WTS implies that the death toll has reached into the thousands.
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