JWs & Medical ethics on BBC Radio 4 now.

by scotsman 6 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  scotsman

  8-8.30pm
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  sf

  A gentleman from the UK has it playing on mic in the yahoo jw chatroom, right now.

  He says it will re-air Saturday and he will tape it.

  sKally
• 

  BluesBrother

  just saw this thread, catching the end now - Thanks !
• 

  Fe2O3Girl

  Here is a link to the BBC website entry for this programme. There will be a link to "listen again" if you didn't hear it. I notice AJWRB did not make the list of more information.

  http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/ethicscommittee.shtml

  Programme 1 - Treating a Jehovah's WitnessIn the first programme, the panel discusses a case involving a Jehovah's Witness with acute myeloid leukaemia.
  
  The standard treatment is high dose chemotherapy to kill the cancerous blood cells. A crucial part of this involves replenishing the blood system, which is destroyed as a side effect of the chemotherapy. But Jehovah's Witnesses do not accept blood products and are prepared to die rather than compromise their belief.
  
  The patient believed that if he received blood, this would prevent his passage into paradise after death. But rather than refusing treatment entirely, he asked for the chemotherapy to be administered with alternatives to blood products, which are more expensive.
  
  The nursing staff were extremely distressed by the situation. They felt that it was unethical to give him chemotherapy because in the absence of blood support it was likely to fail, and could even hasten his death.
  
  Ethical issues
  
  The panel will be asked to tackle difficult points such as:
  
  - Can a patient demand a partial treatment that the doctor considers futile and could even cause them harm?
  
  - Patients have the right to refuse a treatment, but does he have a right to refuse part of it?
  
  - If the patient's wishes are paramount, is the emotional impact on the nursing staff as important?
  
  - Should a patient, on religious grounds or otherwise, have the right to more expensive treatment than others?
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  sf

  Pardon me, but I heard no key points that I haven't heard before. Plus, there were no jws on the panel.

  I want to hear key questions such as:

  Why do the members of your church have to go along with the way you interpret a scripture that you re-wrote for your bible and if they don't adhere to such, they will basically be killed at the hands of your jehovah god?

  What gives you the right to kill in this way?

  In my opinion, there was nothing key about the program.

  sKally
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  aniron

  SF

  The program was not about the beliefs of JW's but about the ethics the medical profession must think about when treating such patients. Whether they are JW's or some other belief that does not allow a certain course of treatment.

  Whether not the doctors or nurses agree with the patients belief it is not up to them to change that person religious belief. Their dilemma is will the treatment they give save or kill the patient. The case discussed, basically was either treatment they gave was dangerous. If they gave treatment without blood, the patient could die. The JW patient requested alternatives be used instead of blood. But the doctors, nurses knew that using the alternatives would just as much hasten death, maybe more so than not using blood. In respecting the patients beliefs it put them in a dilemma in that either way they choose it would mean the persons death.
• 

  sf

  The program was not about the beliefs of JW's

  Yes, thank you. I understood this while listening.

  But it should be, is my point.

  sKally