Alberta Man (Lawrence Hughes) brings protest to Georgetown

by Dogpatch 4 Replies latest jw friends

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  Dogpatch

  Wednesday, October 13th, 2004

  Alberta man brings protest to Georgetown LISA TALLYN, Staff Writer Toting signs emblazoned with "Stop Killing Children" and "Watch Tower Protects Pedophiles", approximately 20 people protested at the Jehovah's Witnesses Canadian headquarters in Georgetown Saturday afternoon. Calgary resident Lawrence Hughes, a former Jehovah's Witness, organized the two-hour protest "to educate the public and protect children," he said. Hughes fought hard and convinced the Alberta government in 2002 to force his 16-year-old daughter Bethany, who had acute myeloid leukemia, to undergo blood transfusions against her will and the will of her mother. In August, Hughes launched a $1 million lawsuit against the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada that claims Jehovah's Witness members used the fear of damnation to convince Bethany not to have blood transfusions. It also claims that influence exerted by Jehovah's Witnesses on Bethany and her mother led to the girl's death in 2002. Mark Ruge, director of public information at the Canadian headquarters for Jehovah's Witnesses on Hwy. 7, said yesterday the organization has not yet been served with Hughes' suit. Hughes said he organized the protest for three reasons. The first one being the Watch Tower Society (WTS) refuses to report known pedophiles to police, he said. "If a victim of sexual abuse reports the crime to the authorities, the WTS disfellowships the victim, has the victim shunned by the congregation members and has their legal department defend the known pedophile in court," said Hughes in a media release. Ruge said Hughes "can say whatever he wants," but there was no truth to his claims. "We're not those kind of people," said Ruge. Hughes said they were also protesting because "the WTS forces members of the church to slave full time all their life in their factories and are not paid anything." He added when the workers get old they are "thrown out onto the street without any money or belongings and are not even eligible to collect Canada Pension...a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms." Ruge called that claim, "outrageous." "If this is slavery, boy, it's pretty nice," said Ruge. He said they provide good working conditions at the Watch Tower Society and many Jehovah's Witnesses continue to work there when they are older. He added they have a section in one of their residence buildings where the older people receive care and are well looked after. Another reason for the protest according to Hughes is because "the WTS is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of men, women and children," and has been giving out "bad medical advice to its members concerning vaccinations, organ transplants, blood transfusions and alternative medicine" for hundreds of years. Ruge called those claims, "absurd" and "ridiculous." Lawrence Hughes pro-tests in front of the Watch Tower Society outside Georgetown. http://www.northpeel.com/br/gi/news/story/2270645p-2631778c.html
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  kls

  Ruge said Hughes "can say whatever he wants," but there was no truth to his claims.
  
  "We're not those kind of people," said Ruge
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 

  RunningMan

  Go, Larry!

  As I have pointed out many times in the past, you just can't buy that kind of publicity. His day will negate a few hundred thousand hours of door knocking.
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  sf

  http://www.escape.ca/~jclong/guidejw.htm

  Jehovah's Witnesses (Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada):

  National Office

  Mark Ruge, Director, Public Information (Canada)

  P.O. Box 4100, Georgetown, Ontario, Canada L7G 4Y4

  Phone: (905) 873-4100; Toll-Free: (888) 301-4259; Fax: (905) 873-4511

  E-mail: [email protected]

  Why don't Jehovah's Witnesses accept blood transfusions?

  We follow the Bible command, found at Acts chapter 15, verse 20, Acts chapter 21, verse 25, and elsewhere, that Christians must "abstain from . . . blood." Jehovah's Witnesses request the use of nonblood medical alternatives, which are widely accepted and used by the medical community.
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  Happy Guy :)

  Good for Lawrence.
  

  I was reading a poem allegedly written by Lawrence's daughter 2 days before she passed away. I found it on the internet and would rather not post it incase Lawrence browses here; it may bring back sad feelings. Clearly though I think this goes far beyond them threatening her with damnation. From the words in her poem it looks to me that she was lied to about the fact that she was going to die.