Article Text
Abstract
Mr Ridley of the Watch Tower Society (WTS), the controlling religious organisation of Jehovah's Witnesses (JWs), mischaracterises the issue of freedom and confidentiality in JWs' refusal of blood by confusing inconsistent organisational policies with actual Biblical proscriptions. Besides exaggeration and distortion of my writings, Ridley failed to present substantive evidence to support his assertion that no pressure exists to conform to organisational policy nor systematic monitoring which compromises medical confidentiality. In this refutation, I present proof from the WTS's literature, supported by personal testimonies of JWs, that the WTS enforces its policy of blood refusal by coercive pressure to conform and through systematic violation of medical confidentiality. Ridley's lack of candour in dealing with the plea of dissident JWs for freedom to make personal and conscientious decisions regarding blood indicates that a serious breach of ethics in the medical care of JWs continues. The medical community should be seriously concerned.
- Religion
- confidentiality
- Jehovah's Witnesses
- autonomy
- blood transfusion
Statistics from Altmetric.com
Linked Articles
Read the full text or download the PDF:
Other content recommended for you
- Bioethical aspects of the recent changes in the policy of refusal of blood by Jehovah's Witnesses
- Why some Jehovah's Witnesses accept blood and conscientiously reject official Watchtower Society blood policy
- Jehovah's Witnesses and autonomy: honouring the refusal of blood transfusions
- Refusal of potentially life-saving blood transfusions by Jehovah's Witnesses: should doctors explain that not all JWs think it's religiously required?
- Applying the four principles
- Transfusion contracts for Jehovah’s Witnesses receiving organ transplants: ethical necessity or coercive pact?
- Jehovah’s Witnesses in the emergency department: what are their rights?
- Children of Jehovah’s Witnesses and adolescent Jehovah’s Witnesses: what are their rights?
- The ethics of policy writing: how should hospitals deal with moral disagreement about controversial medical practices?
- Why do we treat the children of Jehovah's Witnesses differently from their adult parents?