JW mother refuses blood transfusion and dies leaving newborn twins

[WendyWeber]

report

"We can't believe she died after childbirth in this day and age, with all the technology there is."

They all share the responsibility for her death - her family, his family, the church, all of them. Can they really believe they all did the right thing?

We have a right now in law to let ourselves die, decide what treatment we have etc. It is not that long (1961??) since even suicide was a criminal offence and if you came round as many people do you could be prosecuted - your body wasn't your own. Same with abortion. Certainly the idea that your body is not your own to do with as you choose and you have responsibilities as well as rights in relation to it is a principle worth discussing. It might be the temple of your soul or God's property or your husband's in some cultures/religions/relationships or the state's even.

Sometimes there are JW consistent things you can do which aren't transfusions and I don't know if that might have been possible here. If you believe life here on earth is a tiny tiny part of the time we have overall then it may not matter that much if we die.

agreed, vvv.
bit harsh, robinredbreast. lissie was sticking up for her friends and largely being ignored for her efforts, hardly surprising she got drawn into revealing more than perhaps she intended.

aitch
i doubt very much the family would want the world and the rest of the jw community to know if she did have a transfusion
esp considering the fact it was too late

it is certainly not lissies place to go spouting her mouth off
if she is a friend she should start acting like one

have I missed something, VVVQV?

What should have been done by the maternity staff, but wasn't? Has there been more "news" that I've missed? (Busy day).

Sometimes death is unavoidable, even in this day and age. I don't know if blood would have saved this poor girl, but it definitely would have bought a bit of time.

If you mean that the maternity staff should have warned her of the dire consequences of refusing blood, I would put a LOT of money on the fact that they did, over and over.

Maybe she felt that she was being more of a friend by defending their honour in the face of some pretty vile, ignorant and ill-informed comments?

so what are you acting like, then? who are you to be having a go? why couldn't you just let it go, rather than attract more attention to the story and to lissie's (according to you) indiscretion?
she's already left the thread and MN, what more do you want? why be pompous and say 'have some respect' when you could have showed your respect by remaining silent on the matter?

No, I didnt mean that at all tissy. Lissie's posts demonstrated more 'facts' than the media and I was going by those.

Also, the fact that the discrepancy in maternal deaths during childbirth from hospital to hospital is a clear indication that some maternity units are, quite frankly, dangerous to give birth in.

lissie's left?

i have made no comment whatsoever on if i think this was right or wrong as it is not my or anyone elses place to, including yours aitch

i have only stated that the family would not wish for very private details such as [the dad not bonding with the twins and the transfusion being given] to be dissclosed in such a public arena
its totally disrepectful

Unless you ARE the family it is imposible for you to say that! they may well be glad that someone is defending their corner against all coemrs- I certainly would be.

Lissie love- hugs XXXX I'd be proud to have ou as a RL friend

RRB - if we are going to be picky - you dont know that family wouldnt want that. You are just presuming so.

would you really want this family to be ostracised by the rest of the jw community after everything they have been through?
think before you post
esp other peoples private information

as i have said i make no comment as to whever i feel it was right or wrong as its not my place, as it is nobody else's on this thread,some of the comments really are shocking

Again, you are making assumptions (about the reactions of the JW community "ostracising" the family in their time of need).

I honestly think RRB has some misunderstanding about the JW's here- I have never met a JW who is anything other than inclusive and supportive, and if I were in this position I would be pleased to have a supportive community around me. I also certainly cannot imagine a JW who is willing to be devout to this level then lying to their faith group- that amkes no sense whatsoever!

Lissie - please pass on my thoughts and prayers to your sister on the loss of her friend - I hope she is able to play some part in letting the twins know what a wonderful woman their mother was.

My good Witness friend today told me that even if they had consented to blood-transfusions, it's a conscience issue, and not one for which there would be any ostracizing going on.

I don;t agree with the posters asking for the discussion to be dropped. Cases like these raise important issues about choice, medical ethics, etc, which people often need to discuss (and MN is probably pretty mild compared to the discussions that are bound to be popping up on other talk forums, let alone what will be said by newspaper columnists, etc). People discuss news stories and it's not necessarily malice or ghoulishness: once a story is in the public domain, it's not possible to shut down discussion.

Such a desperately sad story. And Lissie's post clarifying things makes it even more tragic.

ELF1981

"I am not a JW, I do have a lot of friends who are, and I read The Watchtower and Awake..."

A JW you may not be - yet - but believe me, reading that lot, you're on the slippery slope