Another JW Death - No Blood Transfusion
Jean-Claude Lavoie, 26, is another victim of the Watchtower interpretation of the biblical command to abstain from blood. He died in late December after refusing a blood transfusion while being treated for an intestinal tumor.
His (former Jehovah’s Witness) brother, Jonathan Lavoie, has launched an Internet petition calling on the Canadian federal government to make it illegal for a person to refuse treatment on religious grounds.
His father stated that the death was “unfortunate, but it came to that. It’s important to respect Jean-Claude’s choice.”
If anyone has the url for Jonathan’s petition, please comment. I think that his wording is too general. It would not be a good precedent to make refusal of treatment for religious reasons illegal, but perhaps there is another way to frame it.
Techorati Tags: blood | blood transfusion | destructiveness to families | Jehovah's Witnesses | JWs in the news | watchtower bible and tract
Internal Tags: blood | blood transfusion | destructiveness to families | Jehovah's Witnesses | JWs in the news | watchtower bible and tract
One Year Ago: Mirror of the American Soul?
Caleb Says:
> His (former Jehovah’s Witness) brother, Jonathan Lavoie,
> has launched an Internet petition calling on the federal
> government to make it illegal for a person to refuse
> treatment on religious grounds.
excuse me?
i agree with his father. i feel for his loss, but this is reactive insanity. so, because a few people make life-and-death decisions based on boogeyman-in-the-sky silliness, we should be forced to take government counsel in matters medical?
Posted on January 14th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
VirusHead Says:
I actually agree with you on this. Still, there are a number of people who die each year for refusing blood transfusions. This is based on a singular interpretation of the prohibition on blood, one that isn’t followed even by orthodox Jews. The JWs don’t stick to kosher meat, but they allow their children to die.
As I said in the post, I don’t think that it would be a good precedent at all. But perhaps there could be some open debate in the public sphere to shine some light on this practice. It seems that the higher good principle would apply, as in the case where a pregnant woman who normally abstained from pork could eat pork if that’s all there was - because the life is more important than the rule. Of course, JWs eat pork…
They used to be against vaccines, too. That was dropped because of the huge public health concerns.
There’s a strange cherry-picking among the Watchtower leadership with regard to the prohibitions of the code of Moses. Some things matter, others don’t.
Posted on January 14th, 2007 at 8:53 pm
Caleb Says:
> The JWs don’t stick to kosher meat, but they allow their
> children to die.
which is precisely why children should be given full control over their own bodies. even if this ‘radical’ concept were adopted by society, im sure many JW kids would still die rather than upset their parents. as we both know full well, this is the problem with indoctrination of the very young, and IMHO, it is irresolvable.
Posted on January 14th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Caleb Says:
to finish out my tirade on a more positive note (funny how easy it can be to neglect that) if he needs an outlet for the energy this trauma has generated, i would suggest trying to find community among fellow xjws. there isnt enough, we need to build if we wish to feel less alone…
Posted on January 15th, 2007 at 5:05 am
Wil Robinson Says:
REligion is never the ground for government…if someone wants to take their life because of what they believe, let them. The problem lies when someone wants to sacrifice someone ELSE’S life for what they believe. (i.e., see GW Bush and his new crusade in the Middle East).
Posted on January 15th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Caleb Says:
to quote myself:
> which is precisely why children should be given full control
> over their own bodies.
and i might add, doctors should be given the full legal right to give private counsel to minors, as well. restriction never solves anything. freedom can be complicated, but as far as i’m concerned it always holds the answer.
Posted on January 25th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
VirusHead Says:
I like the idea of medical counsel, Caleb.
As for JW community, there is some available - Meetup has many local groups of exJws, and there are forums and such. I’ve got a page of resources elsewhere on the blog, too. If he reads around a little, he’ll find a lot more now than there ever was before.
I haven’t been able to find a link, though. All I know is that he’s based in Canada. I was hoping to send a note along….
Posted on January 25th, 2007 at 5:27 pm