by ang 11 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
almost any true blue practicing JWs that post (not lurk) to this site are anti-WTS
Same goes for you...you have got to be kidding me.
Please pardon me while I laugh my head off at how ridiculous that sounds. "Practicing jws on an antiwt forum". hahahahahaha
sKally
Ang,
http://www.freewebs.com/madamequixote/
Reference: "Jehovah's Witnesses, Blood Transfusions And The Tort Of Misrepresentation," Kerry Louderback-Wood, JD, The Journal Of Church And State, Vol. 47, Autumn 2005, Baylor University.
You may find this legal essay useful and important when treating Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs) who refuse blood transfusions and sometimes refuse blood substitutes, at the behest of publications from their parent corporation, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (WBTS). The "Society" is considered the "mouthpiece" of God by JWs, who sometimes sue doctors for using life-saving blood treatments banned by the organization, which has misrepresented secular facts to promote its cult practice.
This is documented in the above-mentioned essay which attests that the WBTS has a history of disseminating secular information that misinforms readers about medical opinion. This misinformation may influence JWs and the elders who act on their behalf, the members of JW Hospital Liaison Committees (HLC). It is my opinion that misinformed HLC influence may be exerted by the WBTS in times of duress, inducing JW members to make decisions that can cause death and unnecessary suffering. (Additionally, if a JW accepts a blood transfusion, he or she risks shunning and/or disfellowshipping by their local congregation).
Where minors are concerned, this is especially disturbing. Fortunately, courts have intervened in cases where the life of a child is threatened due to JW parents' refusal to accept blood treatments; however, some have died due to refusing blood transfusions (and those who are forced by the courts to accept blood believe they are being persecuted). Especially at risk are pregnant JW women who have a much higher death rate than the general population, due to refusing needed blood in childbirth emergencies, a fact not noted in "the Society" literature; a number of other important facts are also omitted in the Society's use of secular literature, as documented in the tort of misrepresentation article.
Additionally, Kerry Louderback-Wood's essay demonstrates that the WBTS has flip-flopped policies, has provided ambiguous "guidance" regarding acceptance of blood fractions, and has supressed publicizing its own life-saving policy changes. I find this particularly reprehensible. As a result, over the years, "the Society" has likely created confusion within the medical community and among JWs regarding what types of blood treatments are acceptable, especailly among hemophiliacs and anemic JWs.
This may result in very serious legal ramifications for the WBTS and its official representatives, the elders who serve on HLCs. Because it could also affect physicians treating JWs, I feel it would be beneficial for all medical facilities to obtain and keep a copy of "Jehovah's Witnesses, Blood Transfusions and the Tort of Misrepresentation." It might also be helpful to make it available to JW patients and families; and to present it to the JW Hospital Liaison Committee (HLC) elders who may be just as misinformed by the WBTS as the rank and file JWs.
I suspect that your colleagues and legal departments may find the essay especially useful, because its documentation seems to strongly suggest that the WBTS has established a fiduciary relationship with its members and has failed to meet its fiduciary duties by:
- misrepresenting secular information to promote cult practices;
- discouraging members from pursuing higher education and discouraging them from reading outside literature that disagrees with the WBTS agenda; and
- establishing Hospital Liaison Committees, composed of "elders" from local congregations, specifically chosen to interface with the medical community and promote the cult's policies on behalf of sick and/or incapacitated members who place great trust in these elders and in the WBTS.
Because studies have shown the average JW is undereducated, possibly due to cult influence, and because the WBTS has used secular information to promote its practices, it has a duty to present the information accurately and in context, rather than to promote dangerous policies using misleading 'cut and paste' "research." Its fiduciary duty should also include informing JWs and publically informing the medical community in a timely fashion about changes in its blood policies. However, thay have failed to act responsibly and honestly, misrepresenting secular facts by virtue of omission, outright misinformation, and by failure to disclose their own life-saving policy changes, all of which is documented in the Journal Of Church And State essay.
If you or your colleagues ever must contend with an emergency or surgery involving a Jehovah's Witness, I hope you will keep these facts in mind. I also hope you will carefully review the well-researched documentation provided in Kerry Louderback-Wood's essay, "Jehovah's Witnesses, Blood Transfusions and the Tort of Misrepresentation," in the Journal of Church and State, Volume 47, Autumn 2005.
This important resource can be obtained from:
Baylor University
Post Office Box 97308
Waco, Texas 76798-7308
It can also be ordered on the internet at the Associated Jehovah's Witnesses For Reform On Blood Policy. Here you will also find a review of the article:
http://www.ajwrb.org/whatsnew/church_state.shtml
