First of all...I agree that the blood policy helped lead to this terrible tragedy and the WTS shares some blame...but I am confused on some things. I have not kept up with this case very close I admit, but some things raised questions just from what Shunned Father said and what the articles said.
First Shunned Father says:
Two leading Oncologists both agree that my daughter Bethany might be alive today if she had not been fed Arsenic. As you may recall, the WTS arranged to take my sick daughter into hiding for two months and payed a doctor to prescribe Arsenic. The doctor ant the WTS lawyers convinced Bethany that the Arsenic treatment could cure her.
Was she fed arsenic or did the alternative treatment she was given contain arsenic in it? There's a difference there. Some foods have trace amounts of arsenic. Chemotherapy is a form of radiation. In normal circumstances one would want to stay away from radiation. It could be a similar situation with the arsenic treatment. The statement above seems to want to lead one to believe that some witch doctor practice was being used.
Hiding the daughter from her father is unpardonable. But did the WTS whisk her away or did her mother? Yes, the mother was definitely under the influence of the WTS, but if she took her and hid her, can you prove that the WTS had anything to do with that? Maybe they did, but can it be proved in a court of law that they had this kind of influence on the situation or will it be presented as if it was the mothers decision alone? Remember, most people do not know how cult religions work. It will be hard to get them to envision life as a JW and understand how one's thinking and decision making is influenced by the indoctrinations of the church.
The medical records show that the doctor could have saved my daughters life at any time , right up to the last day, if he had given her blood.
According to the one article listed, she was given 38 transfusions. Maybe it was too late by then, but that doesn't jive with what was stated above.
The WTS is an evil empire and they are easy to hate by ex-JWs and I feel for those that lost a family member when the blood policy is strictly adhered too, but sometimes grief can make us overreact and strike blindly out at the easiest target. The WTS is an easy target to lash out against, and they deserve some heat for the blood policy, but there is no guarantee that she would have lived even if blood had been transfused early on. Murder is a strong word and if you accuse them of that you have to make sure you can back that up.
I know I'll probably catch some heat for this post, but I stand by it. Even though I hate the WTS, I also believe in understanding the facts on a case before jumping on anyone's bandwagon in trying to defame the WTS.