I was thinking about the blood issue with witnesses and realized that if I were in an accident where I would need a transfusion and were unconscious, my family and the congregation would keep me from having one, possibly resulting in my death. The whole point of fading is not letting anyone know your intentions and just walking away, so I think some serious legal counter to the Hospital Liaison Committee is needed.
What I'm thinking is having a notarized legal document drawn up along these lines:
STATEMENT OF MEDICAL WISHES WHEN INCAPACITATED
In the event that I am incapacitated requiring medical attention; I, (full name), being of sound mind and body, affirm the following:
As a Jehovah's Witness, my beliefs required me to 'abstain from blood.' Therefore, I could not receive any blood transfusions, even to save my life. As of this date I no longer consider myself one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and I am now willing to accept any and all medical treatment deemed necessary by an attending physician, including blood transfusion.
There are some among the Jehovah's Witnesses who may not be aware or concerned about this stance, and may try legal means to block me from getting a blood transfusion or any other medical care forbidden by the religion. The motivation for this is from their belief that church doctrine supersedes all else, and some may believe they are following their conscience. This document is to serve as proof of my wishes and to negate any and all legal claims to the contrary. Any documents from earlier dates that conflict with this document are to be disregarded.
I'd finish it up with some personal stuff about my DNR wishes, etc.
After completion I think I'll get it notarized and send copies to my General Practitioner and a few non-witness relatives so they can counter any interference with my medical care by the HLC/HIS.
Something all faders should do...
by B_Deserter 6 Replies latest jw experiences
-
B_Deserter
-
rebel8
AFAIK all that is necessary to accomplish what you want is to execute a living will and durable healthcare proxy. There is no special rule for jw situations, you just use the same forms everyone uses to express their wishes. Google and you can find out more, but you should be able to get these forms at your friendly neighborhood doctor's office.
The next thing you can do, to make sure that your wishes are clear, is to contact all your healthcare providers (hospitals and doctors too) and make sure they have a copy. Then ask your hospital to remove your former religious preference from your current profile so the HLC is not told of your presence in the hospital, if they come to the desk asking if any jws are there.
If you are admitted at some point, ask that you be removed from the patient information directory. This is your legal right per HIPAA, and
the HLC will not be allowed to visit you. Again, no special rules needed, this is just standard practice in healthcare.
Making up your own forms put you at risk that they will not be legally valid. -
llbh
Good point deserter me and my i have meaning to do this fro a lomg time, for me and my non jw son will do this week
llbh
-
yknot
Speak to you doctor, make him/her put in your medical records that you are blood approved.
-
Scully
In the event that I am incapacitated requiring medical attention; I, (full name), being of sound mind and body, affirm the following:
As a Jehovah's Witness, my beliefs required me to 'abstain from blood.' Therefore, I could not receive any blood transfusions, even to save my life. As of this date I no longer consider myself one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and I am now willing to accept any and all medical treatment deemed necessary by an attending physician, including blood transfusion.I think you're onto something good, B_Deserter.
The only problem I anticipate when I read your proposed AMD is that a person working to save your life in an emergency may stop reading after the first sentence that I highlighted in red, and miss the whole point of making your wishes known in advance.
It's extremely important to cover all our bases, and plan ahead for a situation like the one you are anticipating. I've always advocated going to hospitals and clinics where you have been treated in the past, where you have registered yourself as a JW, and talk to someone in Medical Records to have that notation in the electronic file deleted. Talk to your family doctor and any specialist that you have seen as a patient and make sure they document your EX JW status, and your wishes to have blood transfusions in the event of an emergency.
It would be an excellent idea to have a document like the one you are proposing in your wallet in the event of an emergency. I don't have one myself, but I think my blood donor card would speak for itself if I'm ever in that situation.
It's also a very good idea to appoint someone to be your Health Care Proxy/Power of Attorney for Health Care, who knows what your wishes are and who will advocate for you when you are unable to make medical decisions on your own behalf. How many of us have no exJW relatives who will respect our wishes to accept a blood transfusion if we need it? If you are a single person with JW parents, do you realize that your parents will be asked to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are unconscious and have not made your wishes known? Are you willing to take the chance that they might try to "save" your "eternal life" by refusing a blood transfusion? If you are married to a JW, will your spouse respect your position the way they expect you to respect theirs? I know if it were up to my JW relatives, they would definitely refuse blood for me even if it killed me and left my children without a mother.
Our situations as exJWs make it imperative to plan for these contingencies. We need to write not only a Living Will, but a Last Will and Testament as well. Do you realize that some JW parents have stated that they will try to have JW funerals for their exJW children if they die? It's their last opportunity at sticking it to us after we die.
It's appalling the level of insult and disrespect they have for our beliefs (or lack thereof) - to go to those lengths to disregard our wishes, it's just sickening.
-
erynw
U.S. Living Will Registry http://www.uslivingwillregistry.com/
It's free if you sign up through one of their partners. I signed up under Sentara Center for Healthcare Ethics which was also free.
You can search for a partner here, http://liv-will1.uslivingwillregistry.com/rsearch.html
You get a sticker for your DL and a wallet card with all of the contact info so in case you are not able to speak for yourself, hospitals and doctors across the nation can call the 800 number to get a copy of your advanced medical directive. You get sent a reminder each year to update it.
I excluded certain people on my advanced directive.
-
chelsea
B_Deserter you make an important point. Interestingly "no blood" was probably the only WT-conditioned issue that i didn't easily leave behind, which is strange considering my sister died from leukemia and refused blood transfusions herself. Making sure all documents are legal is the most important thing, and i agree with scully - relying on a JW relative to make decisions for you if you are incapacitated would be extremely dangerous.