Trinidad-Court moves to save baby/BLOOD

by DannyHaszard 11 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  DannyHaszard

  COURT MOVES TO SAVE BABY
  Trinidad & Tobago Express, Trinidad and Tobago - 1 hour ago
  ... The parents, Joanne and Winston Ammon Jr, who belong to the Jehovah's Witness faith, had objected to the blood transfusion on the basis of their religious ...

  COURT MOVES TO SAVE BABY Jehovah's Witnesses protest life-saving transfusion Darren Bahaw [email protected] Friday, December 9th 2005

  AS LIFE trickled out of a two-week-old baby boy yesterday, the High Court seized the child from his parents and authorised a life-saving blood transfusion. The dramatic action took place behind closed doors after the child's parents refused the transfusion on religious grounds even after the infant's twin died of similar complications. Justice Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, presiding in the Family Court at Nipdec House, yesterday granted an application making the infant a ward of the court. The court order directed that the child would remain under the custody of doctors at the Neonatal Unit until he is fully recuperated. With the clock ticking down, Head of the Neonatal Unit, Dr Petronella Manning-Alleyne approached the Solicitor General Department requesting help yesterday morning, the Express learned. In an almost immediate response Attorney General John Jeremie gave the authorisation for an application to be made before the High Court to make the baby a ward of the Court to allow for the infant to receive the blood transfusion and any other medical treatment. In the application, Justice Rajnauth-Lee was informed that the surviving child was born with low blood count on November 25. Eight days later, on December 3, the infant suffered more complications after he was diagnosed with "unanticipated bleeding" in the lungs which resulted in an even lower blood count. The judge was advised that newborns cannot produce their own blood cells to rejuvenate themselves. Rajnauth-Lee was also informed that the child, who was hooked up to a ventilator, required immediate help and in order to remove the child from the ventilator he needed blood transfusions. The Express learned that the situation developed after Joanne Ammon, of Waterloo Road, Arouca, gave birth to twins at the Port of Spain General Hospital. The average weight of each baby was one pound, 12 ounces. They were born prematurely, about six-months into Ammon's pregnancy. Hours after the twins were born, one of them died of shock due to an "extremely low blood count", the Express was told. The surviving baby was being prepared last night to undergo his first blood transfusion at the ICU of the Neonatal Ward and doctors anticipated that he would remain a patient for the next two months. The parents, Joanne and Winston Ammon Jr, who belong to the Jehovah's Witness faith, had objected to the blood transfusion on the basis of their religious beliefs. Jehovah Witnesses do not accept transfusions of whole blood or major blood components, one member of the faith told the Express. Instead, they seek the use of non-blood medical alternatives which are used in hospitals around the world and in cases where the patient is over 18 years of age, the decision to accept or refuse treatment requiring blood is left up to the patient, the elder, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said. ----------- [email protected] reporter covering story

  [email protected] editor
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  DannyHaszard

  More from Trinidad/satanist murderer turned Jdub Bands made me crazy
  Trinidad & Tobago Express, Trinidad and Tobago - 7 hours ago
  ... think about worshiping Satan. However, he had now returned to God and considered himself a Jehovah's Witness. Daniel said he started ...

  Bands made me crazy Imran Ali Friday, December 9th 2005

  A Diego Martin man is accused of killing his cousin while he was high on drugs and listening to heavy metal rock music claimed he was not himself when he stabbed the girl more than 25 times and hinted that he felt possessed by a demon. Marcus Daniel also told a jury in the Port of Spain First Criminal Court that 21-year-old Osei Lazare, who is also on trial for murder, had nothing to do with killing 16-year-old Suzette Gibson. "When I killed Suzette I saw a dark object coming over me. I did not know I was stabbing Suzette. It was only when the police told me how she had been killed that I realised (that the black object) I was seeing and swiping the knife at was her," Daniel testified. A letter he wrote to Gibson's parents apologising for his actions was produced at the trial yesterday. In it he said he had loved Gibson as a sister and it "hurt a lot to know that this happened". "I promise you all I would never ever get back into drugs and rock music because what happened was because of the drugs," Daniel wrote. His religious beliefs were also questioned yesterday. He told State prosecutor Alexander Prince that at the time of the killing he did not believe in God or Satan but listening to rock music made him think about worshiping Satan. However, he had now returned to God and considered himself a Jehovah's Witness. Daniel said he started drinking when he was about 14 years old, and he dropped out of school around the same time. Eventually he started using marijuana and then cocaine and began listening to rock music. His taste in music went from the "soft rock" music of Aerosmith and Guns 'n' Roses to the more intense, anti-social lyrics of heavy metal bands including Morbid Angel and Slipknot and artists such as Marilyn Manson. Manson is a controversial rock singer who promotes himself as an Anti-Christ. Daniel said he also decorated his room with pictures of demons and tombstones. He recalled there were times in the past when he would listen to Slipknot's music and lose control of himself and smash items. "There were a few bands that made me have crazy and evil thoughts. They made me have a rage," he said. He said he killed his cousin on the night of January 23, 2002 when he took her to Blue Basin, Diego Martin. Lazare was with them. They were in a car listening to Slipknot and he had drank rum that day and was smoking a "black" (a cigarette of marijuana and crack cocaine). He said his cousin complained of the cigarette smoke, and when he tried to touch her on her shoulder she pushed his hands away and slapped him. At that point, Daniel said, he flew into a rage and used a knife he had to stab the girl about her face, chest, back and arms, cut her throat and throw her into a ravine. Daniel and Lazare were arrested the next day after blood stains were found in the car they used, and both gave statements to the police. Lazare said he had nothing to do with the killing. Justice Herbert Volney, who is presiding over the trial, adjourned the case to this morning.
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  DannyHaszard

  Note:Trinidad baby/blood story on ALL news services/google/msn/yahoo will hang for a long time-Danny
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  DannyHaszard

  UPDATE-next day Hospital didn't consider alternative
  Trinidad & Tobago Express, Trinidad and Tobago - 6 hours ago
  Gordon Headley, an elder of the Jehovah Witness faith who holds responsibility as this country's representative on medical matters, stated yesterday that the ...

  Hospital didn't consider alternative Jehovah parents: Darren Bahaw [email protected] Saturday, December 10th 2005

  THE parents of a premature newborn baby are claiming that hospital authorities refused to even consider using an alternative drug to save the life of their ailing infant and insisted on a blood transfusion, even though this procedure was against their religious belief. Gordon Headley, an elder of the Jehovah Witness faith who holds responsibility as this country's representative on medical matters, stated yesterday that the "uncooperative attitude" of the doctors "has mystified the parents of this infant and heightened their anxieties over the immediate and long-term welfare of the child". In a media statement issued by the Association of Jehovah's Witnesses, signed by Headley, it stated that members of his faith are concerned about the public's perception of their religious beliefs. On Thursday, head of the Neonatal Unit at the Port of Spain General Hospital Dr Petronella Manning-Alleyne sought legal help to allow her to treat an infant born to Joanne and Winston Ammon Jr, on November 25. The mother had given birth to twins and they were diagnosed as suffering from a low blood count. Hours after their birth, one of the babies died of shock and the other developed complications on December 3, prompting doctors to recommend an urgent blood transfusion. As a result, Manning-Alleyne approached lawyers at the Solicitor General's Department to petition the High Court to make an application for the Ammon infant to be made a ward of the court. In an almost immediate response, Attorney General John Jeremie authorised the legal process and within hours the doctors were preparing to carry out the blood transfusion. High Court judge Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, presiding in the Family Court, granted the application, paving the way for doctors to proceed with the blood transfusion and any other medical procedure to ensure the health of the child. The baby was reported to be resting comfortably at the Neonatal Unit yesterday. Headley stated that contrary to media reports, there were no objections to the medical treatment being considered by the doctors since members of his religion "do not believe in faith-healing and we hold dear the sanctity of life". "For these reasons, we do not support abortions or have a death-wish for out children or ourselves," he added. Regarding the Ammon case, Headley said, it was neither ethical nor appropriate for him to make any specific comments. "However, the parents are intensely interested in preserving the life of their surviving infant. They did not refuse treatment for their child. Without presuming to dictate to the doctors they simply wanted the bleeding stopped and the blood count raised by the use of approved medical products," the release said. In an attempt to convince the doctors to use the alternative drug, members of the faith Hospital Liaison Committee provided doctors at the Neonatal Unit with information from medical journals about the drug, its dosage, and even the willingness to provide the drug, the release added. "It is significant that this offer was made even before complications arose with the surviving Ammon twin," Headley stated. -------------- Darren Bahaw [email protected] reporter ---------- Classic mealy-mouth jdub doublespeak innuendo just like their trolls we engage on the net,KNOW this ever since i was a little boy (born JW) 1957 i was told,"we have to talk like this because evil slave (apostates) will sue us.My JW Elder dad would say, Jesus said,"I am sending you out as sheep among wolves,therefore you must be cautious as a serpent but innocent as a dove".-Danny Haszard Bangor Maine
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  LDH

  I can imagine if that baby lives, (which I hope) the parents will be torn apart by the fact that the other child died......

  How sad....
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  DannyHaszard

  Medical Assn PRO: Transfusion or drug-it was hospital's choice Trinidad & Tobago Express, Trinidad and Tobago - 22 minutes ago The Jehovah's Witnesses couple had objected to a transfusion on the grounds of religious beliefs, but head of the Neonatal Unit Dr Petronella Manning-Alleyne ... Medical Assn PRO: Transfusion or drug-it was hospital's choice Anna-Lisa Paul and Darren Bahaw Sunday, December 11th 2005 Newly elected public relations officer of the Trinidad and Tobago Medical Association Dr Sankar Moonan has said that it was up to the doctors and specialists at the Neonatal Unit of the Port of Spain General Hospital to determine whether the baby of Joanne and Winston Ammon should receive a blood transfusion or a substitute drug, Erythropoietin (EPO). The Jehovah's Witnesses couple had objected to a transfusion on the grounds of religious beliefs, but head of the Neonatal Unit Dr Petronella Manning-Alleyne asked the State to intervene in the case of the premature baby boy. The court ruled that the transfusion should take place and made the child a ward of the State. A nurse at the Neonatal Unit would only say the baby boy was "a premature infant, still on support". Sankar said doctors at the unit made decisions based on medical diagnoses of the patients. He stressed that these doctors were more than qualified in their areas, and would make decisions in the best interest of the child. Gordon Headley, an elder of the Jehovah's Witnesses faith who is the national representative on medical matters, said the Ammons-who declined to speak with the Sunday Express-would have been much happier if an alternative method of treatment was used, like EPO. Asked if the health of the child could have been the reason why doctors vetoed the parents' request to use EPO, as the blood transfusion would have worked faster, Headley denied this. He admitted though that EPO takes as much as three to four days before it begins to work on an individual's system, but reiterated that the Ammon infant could have been treated with EPO instead of the transfusion. Dr Umang Minocha, who treated a baby in 1994 using EPO, told the Sunday Express that she agreed to the use of the drug after the parents refused to allow a blood transfusion. "That was in an extreme case. I do not like the idea of not giving blood transfusion," Minocha said from her office at the Gulf View Medical Centre. "I don't advocate that babies who need urgent blood transfusion use EPO. It is dangerous. "It was something I acceded to in order to save the life of a child," she said. Moonan said he has heard of the drug being used locally and has had no adverse reports about it.
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  DannyHaszard

  Witness? Or eyes wide shut!

  The disbelief of Jehovah's Witnesses in blood transfusions is based on their belief that the Bible is 'God's' words.

  • Trinidad Express
  • 12/18/2005

  Witness? Or eyes wide shut! Letter of the day Sunday, December 18th 2005

  The disbelief of Jehovah's Witnesses in blood transfusions is based on their belief that the Bible is "God's" words. But, since a baby's life was involved in this particular matter, there are some fundamental questions that citizens and our leaders should ask about the relationship between religion and the state. I have six: (1) Why did we need to go to court to save a child? Given that time is a factor in saving the baby's life, shouldn't there be a standard procedure in such cases? (2) Was it a breakdown of "law" or of "culture" that led to one baby dying and another being put at risk greater than the risks that come with premature birth? (3) Do parent's rights override a child's? Now, they were easy. Other questions follow from these three. If we assume that secularism and only evidence and reason is appropriate in the discussion that shapes law and policy then we must ask the following: (4) Does a parent/guardian have the right to impart their unsupported belief on their child/charge? (5) Are religious schools ethical? (6) Are the religious bodies who encourage parents to such criminal negligence culpable in any way? If anyone has any answers, I would love to be enlightened. If you have more questions, I may not have the answers either. But I guarantee debate of the highest quality, something lacking in our culture where prejudice, not enquiry, appears the pattern. Shane Collens Cascade

  [email protected] editor [email protected] reporter covering story
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  DannyHaszard

  Transfusion not necessary’ Trinidad News, Trinidad and Tobago - 36 minutes ago
  THE ASSOCIATION of Jehovah’s Witnesses of Trinidad and Tobago yesterday released DVDs to the media to show how patients can be successfully treated without ...
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  DannyHaszard

  http://www.newsday.co.tt/stories.php?article_id=31809 click here not posting article embeded adverts
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  Will Power

  thanks for keeping us up-to-date Danny.
  
  Does this video echo the misleading info cited in the blood essay?
  Is the WT calling for the investigation of their misrepresentations?
  
  wp