JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES ACCEPT BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS ????

by Dogpatch 15 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Dogpatch

  Anyone seen this or have heard more on the truthfulness of it?

  http://www.hri.org/news/greek/mpa/2000/00-06-14.mpa.html#20

  Randy

  [B] INTERNATIONAL NEWS

  [20] JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES ACCEPT BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS

  Jehovah's Witnesses will from now on accept blood transfusions in life threatening cases, thereby overturning the denomination's former negative stance on the procedure, without facing excommunication.

  According to the New York Times, the decision to allow blood transfusions was taken during a secret meeting of the religious community's 12 governing members who characterized the change as a "slight adjustment".

  The decision follows decades of adverse publicity about adults and children who have died or came close to death because the life-saving blood transfusion was forbidden by their faith.

  One case in point came to last week when a Jehovah's Witness who had lost five pints of blood in a machete attack, renounced his faith just before he lost consciousness so that he could accept a blood transfusion.

  [21] THE JEHOVAH WITNESSES CONSENT TO BLOOD TRANSFUSION

  The Jehovah Witnesses with a decision marking a 180 degrees change in the policy they were following until now allow the blood transfusions in life threatening situations without risking to be excommunicated.

  The decision in question was taken in a secret meeting of the New York based 12member world administrative council of the Jehovah Witnesses and was characterized as a "small adjustment" that comes after decades of strong criticism made by the international mass media and many humanitarian organizations regarding the cases of children who were led to death or got very close to dying because of the blood transfusion ban.

  However, the Jehovah Witnesses spokesman in Britain stated that the rejection of blood transfusion is still a "fundamental value" for them.
• 

  the_classicist

  Anyone subscribe to the NY times?

  edited to add: I can't find anything on their website.
• 

  catchthis

  Macedonian Press Agency: News in English, 2000-06-14

  This article on their website is 5 years old.

  It might be possible though that a few of the GB wanted this change to take place, but two-thirds couldn't be achieved. Or two-thirds was achieved, but someone retracted their vote.
• 

  stevenyc

  When did the blood fraction doctrine come it to practice?

  steve
• 

  Dogpatch

  Yes, the date gives it away. It just shows how when the WT's blood policy incrementally changs, people on the outside misunderstand and think they have changed their policy. Sick!

  Randy
• 

  garybuss

  Actually, It's my understanding that the blood policy didn't change then but the shunning policy changed. Under the old established rules, the victim first had a trial and then they were shunned. Under the express lane rule, they skip the trial and go right to shunning.
  
  They can now say, we don't disfellowship for blood medical treatment, and be technically correct and morally wrong. Disfellowshipping requires a trial and disassociating does not. So, they just moved blood treatment crime over one column to the disassociated column and now they can just skip the trial and go right to shunning the victim.
  
  Other legally sensitive crimes like military association have long been an automatic shunning offence. The new member's handbook opens the way for a LOT of things to move to the shunning express lane.
  
  The blood treatment guidelines did change though. That change was the allowance of all fractions of all components without shunning applied.
  
  I may be wrong about all of the above.
  
  
• 

  minimus

  All fractions of all components??
• 

  garybuss

  
  

  http://www.ajwrb.org/6-15-04.shtml

  http://www.ajwrb.org/
• 

  eyeslice

  The policy is a farce.
  
  Garybuss's image is from a recent Watchtower. I can never get a straight answer to the question; if it is ok to accept fractions, is it ok to donate blood? In other words how can JW's conscientiously accept blood fractions without giving - it simply would be Christian. there is a garbled answer, "it may be ok if you were ceratin if the blood was only going to be used for fractions (but that doesn't square with the all blood must be poured on the ground doctrine).
  
  Eyeslice
• 

  catchthis

  eyeslice, I'll do you one better.....

  Ask a witness if it would be ok to donate fractions of your blood, not whole blood. Depending on their answer, suggest they might try out an Apheresis type blood donation.