Question to Jehovah's Witnesses (No Atheist)?

[cadby]

We value are lives very, very much. And consider everyday we live as a gift from Jehovah. That being said this would be a conscious matter for each witness to decide. For me I would need to know and think about the following questions before I made a choice. Did the doctor see her no blood card and ignore her wishes? If she didn't sue him would he be more prone to disobeying Gods laws and the next Jehovah Witness that was in the same position? What if she ends up catching serous diseases after the surgery and dieing after a few months. What if her baby now contracts a disease and dies from the infected blood? What if she would have lived anyway and gone on to live a happy healthy life without the blood transfusion? Jehovah is clear in what he expects from faithful people. “The holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you, except these necessary things, to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled [leaving the blood in the meat] and from fornication.” (Acts 15:28, 29; 21:25) So we must ‘keep abstaining from blood.’ In God’s eyes, our doing that is as important as our avoiding idolatry and sexual immorality.

We are absolutely confident in Jehovah's ability to resurrect faithful ones back to life as he showed by resurrecting Jesus. Can not the creator of the universe recreate?

Here is some research you may want to consider about Blood transfusions. You may be surprised what many doctors are now saying.


Blood Transfusions—How Safe?

http://www.watchtower.org/e/hb/article_02.htm

[devon]

god is the judge not me

[parnell]

That blood transfusion only saved her life TEMPORARILY, but Jehovah God, who is the GIVER of life, states throughout the Bible that God requires His TRUE worshippers should "abstain from blood" (Acts 15:28, 29) -- STAY AWAY from it, REFUSE it, REJECT it, meaning do not eat it, do not infuse it into your body. This is a very clear commandment. (Leviticus 17:12, and other scriptures).

Jehovah God can also RESTORE life to any individual, and when he converts Earth back to the way He intended for it to be -- a beautiful Paradise where perfect humans will reside upon it forever -- he will resurrect from the dead all those who died loyal, faithful and obedient to Him (Rev. 21:3, 4). Jehovah's Witnesses truly believe God's promise to do this, so they are not afraid to die by refusing a transfusion.

Yes, life is in the blood, and it is extremely sacred to Jehovah God and belongs to Him alone. His Witnesses respect that.

The Constitution says that all citizens of the United States have "freedom of religion," but the doctors ignored her religious beliefs and violated Ms. DiGeronimo's right to practice her faith, so in this respect it was malpractice on the doctors' part.

I would not appreciate it if I specified to my doctors that I did not want a blood transfusion in reverence to my God Jehovah, and they took it upon themselves to give me one anyway. A patient is entitled to say how he or she wants his/her OWN BODY treated, and doctors are supposed to cooperate, because it is the patient's decision and choice, not the doctors.

If you want even more proof, please go to www.watchtower.org and type 'BLOOD' in the Search box. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to answer your good question!

[lifton]

I find it perplexing that Jehovah's Witnesses are so inconsistent.

They claim to believe that Leviticus 17:10-14 (which speaks of not eating blood) implies the taking blood into the body via a transfusion -- while at the same time they reject the dietary restrictions of Mosaic Law, and so feel it is ok to eat shrimp or catfish, and do not feel it is necessary to keep Kosher(Kashrut).

If they also refused to eat all meat products whatsoever and lived a vegan lifestyle this would be at least reasonable given their interpretations of the passage in the book of Leviticus but since they do not it seems arbitrary and frankly silly.

As far as I can comprehend their eisegesis -- since they do not prepare food under the applicable Kosher/Halal rules -- then every roast steak hotdog and hamburger that they have ever eaten -- has violated their beliefs far more literally than any transfusion.

[eoforwic]

That doctor forced something on her that went against our Godly principles..... Maybe she would have rather died then disobeyed Jehovah... That doctor did it against her will...I would be greatful that I was alive...But I would have not wanted to be saved in that way. I would sue him too..

[sylvester37]

You can sue if they did not consent with you, but in this case I read that DiGeronimo kind of passed out a was not able to sign the consent form. Her husband, who probably was not a Jehovah's Witnesses, he signed the consent form for receiving blood transfusion.

As a Jehovah's Witnesses we have to carry a form/document in our purse, wallet stating the refusal of blood transfusion and having it signed by your husband and an elder or mature member from the congregation. DiGeronimo probably has never spoken with her husband and told him what was her wishes in a case something like this happens. We have to be prepared so that there is no misunderstanding.

Acts 15:28, 29 clearly states: ''For the holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to YOU, except these necessary things, 29 to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication. If YOU carefully keep yourselves from these things, YOU will prosper. Good health to YOU!”

Often simple saline solution, Ringer’s solution, and dextran can be used as plasma volume expanders, and these are available in nearly all modern hospitals. Actually, the risks that go with use of blood transfusions are avoided by using these substances.

The Canadian Anaesthetists’ Society Journal (January 1975, p. 12) says: “The risks of blood transfusion are the advantages of plasma substitutes: avoidance of bacterial or viral infection, transfusion reactions and Rh sensitization.” Jehovah’s Witnesses have no religious objection to the use of nonblood plasma expanders.

The next question is why do we prefer to die instead of receiving a blood transfusion?
The issue here really is loyalty to God. It is God’s Word that tells us to abstain from blood. (Acts 15:28, 29) As True Christians, do we have enough faith to do what God commands?’

And
The Bible also says: “The hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear [Jesus’] voice and come out.” (John 5:28, 29)
Jesus Christ promised that all those in Jehovah’s memory will be resurrected, or brought back to life. Among them will indeed be those who have pursued a righteous course as God’s servants.

But millions of other people have died without showing whether they would comply with God’s righteous standards. Either they did not know about Jehovah’s requirements or they lacked sufficient time to make needed changes. Individuals of this sort are also in God’s memory and will be resurrected,
for the Bible says: ''and I have hope toward God, which hope these [men] themselves also entertain, that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”—Acts 24:15.

Where will this resurrection occur? Psalm 37:29 states: “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.” Think of what that means! Families and friends torn apart by death will again meet here on earth.

The Bible, provides knowledge and guidance to help us face adversities successfully. Besides helping us cope with the sorrow of death, Bible counsel can also help us to deal with economic and health problems. It can give you strength to endure social injustice and political turmoil. And if we apply its guidance in our life, it can help us to deal with other personal problems.

Also by studying the Bible, we acquire a hope that far surpasses anything human society offers. The resurrection of friends and family is part of the hope that the Bible sets out.

Revelation 21:3, 4 gives more details: “God himself will be with [mankind]. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”

This means that any source of sadness in our life will soon be gone forever. What the Bible promises will come true, and we can enjoy its fulfillment. Just knowing that better times are ahead gives relief. It's a a good reason for why we are obedient to Jehovah God, the Giver of Life.
—John 17:3.