An essay entitled, "Jehovah's Witnesses, Blood Transfusions, and the
Tort of Misrepresentation," found in Baylor University's peer
reviewed Journal of Church and State's Autumn 2005 issue, exposes
the vulnerability of the Watchtower Society to tort claims because
of the religion's misrepresentations of secular writers.
This cutting edge legal essay critically examines one of the
religion's main publications dedicated to the blood doctrine, How
Can Blood Save Your Life?. How Can Blood Save Your Life? dedicates
pages to the thoughts of secular writers on the benefits of
abstaining from blood. As late as December 2005, the Watchtower
Society's Kingdom Ministry recommended that its followers use How
Can Blood Save Your Life to teach their children about the blood
doctrine in order that their children will be able to articulate
their stance in court. The essay details the misrepresentations in
How Can Blood Save Your Life, by analyzing the following quotes
against the original author's (or court's) words to determine if
they are taken out of context to the point of creating a dishonest
secular argument that bolsters the Watchtower Society's religious
belief.
Writers:
· Joseph Priestley, The Theological and
Miscellaneous Works of Joseph Priestley, vol. 2,
· Eusebius of Ceasarea, The Ecclesiastical
History, Book V
· Tertullian's The Apology of Tertullian-Chapter
IX" (Merton College, Oxford for Parker & Co 1890);
· Paul J. Voogt et. al., "Perioperative Blood
Transfusion and Cancer Prognosis," Cancer
· John S. Spratt, MD, "Blood Transfusions and
Surgery for Cancer," The American Journal of Surgery
· Tarter, "Blood transfusion and infectious
complication following colorectal cancer surgery," 790
· Lawrence Altman, MD, "Lyme Disease from a
Transfusion? It's Unlikely, but Experts are Wary," New York Times,
· Lawrence Altman, M.D., "Scientist Fear that a
Paras! ite Will Spread in Transfusion" New York Times
· Lawrence Altman, MD., "Quandary for Patients:
Have Surgery, or Await Test for Hepatitis C?" New York Times,
· Bruce Lambert, "4 Cases Found of Rare Strain of
AIDS Virus-Standard Test Fail to Detect the HIV-2," New York Times
· Jerry Kolins, MD and Leo J. McCarthy, MD,
Contemporary Transfusion Practice (American Association of Blood
Banks 1987)
· Kolins, MD and McCarthy, MD, Contemporary
Transfusion Practice
· P.J. Howell and P.A. Bamber, "Severe acute
anaemia in a Jehovah Witness," Anaesthesia
· James A. Stockman III, MD., "Anemia of
Prematurity Current Concepts in the Issue of When to Transfuse,"
Pediatric Clinics of North America
· Dixon B. Kaufman, "A Single-Center Experience
of Renal Transplantation in Thirteen Jehovah Witnesses,"
Transplantation
Court Cases
· Parham v. J.R., 442 U.S. 584 (1979) (US Supreme
Court).
· In re Hofbauer, 47 N.Y. 2d 648 at 655 (NY Ct.
of Appeal 1979) (New York's Highest Court)
The essay, "Jehovah's Witnesses, Blood Transfusions, and the Tort of
Misrepresentation" does not stop here, but furthers by critically
analyzing the Watchtower Society's current blood policy
misrepresentations surrounding the scope of allowed blood products,
including hemoglobin and Factor VIII, and autologous blood
transfusions, an issue that
www.ajwrb.org has repeatedly shown.
The essay's author, Attorney Kerry Louderback-Wood, wrote this essay
after the loss of her elderly mother due, in part, to the Watchtower
Society's blood doctrine. She dedicates the essay to all the
children who were harmed by the Watchtower Society's blood
policy! . She wrote this essay in the hopes of saving one life.
Like the first tobacco cases and Catholic church sex scandal cases,
Kerry Louderback-Wood does not expect the first Jehovah's Witness
blood case to easily win. But, this essay is meant to look at where
the law could go, if the State were to hold the Watchtower
Society's "freedom to misquote secular material" over the very lives
of its citizens.
This essay is a must read for anyone facing the blood issue;
including followers, doctors, and legal professionals. You may
order your essay, "Jehovah's Witnesses, Blood Transfusions, and the
Tort of Misrepresentation" though the Journal of Church and State at
www3.baylor.edu/Church_State/ordering_publications.htm
[Modificato da Justee 02/01/2006 12.01]