The Associated Jehovah’s Witnesses for Reform on Blood (AJWRB) welcome and fully support Brett and Naghmeh King’s decision to allow blood transfusions for their son Ashya, should they be needed.
We acknowledge that these are dissident views not supported by the Watchtower Society, or Jehovah’s Witnesses as an organization. Taking such a position could lead to a judicial committee investigation on the charge of “apostasy” and the potential result of their being disfellowshipped and facing the subsequent extreme shunning Jehovah’s Witnesses are well known for practicing. Nonetheless, these parents clearly are prepared to put the needs of their child first despite the theological ramifications.
Other Jehovah’s Witness children have not been as fortunate. The cover of the May 22, 1994 Awake! Magazine features photos of 26 children who died as a result of refusing blood with the heading, “Youths Who Put God First.” Inside the Watchtower publication proclaims: “In former times thousands of youths died for putting God first. They are still doing it, only today the drama is played out in hospitals and courtrooms, with blood transfusions the issue.”
It is estimated that adherence to the blood doctrine has cost thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses their lives in medical situations where non-blood alternatives are either insufficient or simply do not exist.
Thankfully, as this case illustrates, the tide has turned among those called upon to support the policy with the lives of their children.
“The 2014 Global Survey of Jehovah’s Witnesses” shows shrinking support for this policy with only 19.42% of parents prepared to allow their child to die rather than have a blood transfusions as shown in the chart below. [foot]Survey results courtesy of JWSurvey.org[/foot]
AJWRB has been informing and educating Jehovah’s Witnesses concerning the irrational aspects of the Watchtower Society’s blood policy since 1997. Though once a voice for a dissident minority, it seems there is now a growing number of Jehovah’s Witness parents who also oppose this complex and controversial policy.
While many details of this story are difficult to verify from press reports alone, it is noteworthy that the parents have publicly said that they will allow their child blood transfusions if medically necessary. This is despite the information disseminated by the Jehovah’s Witness leadership who systematically demonize any use of blood that does not conform to their strange and evolving policy. The parents’ actions are also remarkable from the standpoint that Jehovah’s Witnesses have made it abundantly clear they will not tolerate dissent on this issue as shown in the links below.
Statement by Lee Elder
Rado Vleugel story Link
Wayne Rogers story Link
Primer/overview of the issues: Link
JWsurvey’s article Link
For further information please visit our website at www.ajwrb.org
Contact Information: http://ajwrb.org/contact-ajwrb
I am delighted for this family, including all of his siblings n grandparents! This family has just liberated themselves from WTBTS; whether they understand the fullness of that at this point or not. But with the care, concern n loving attention they are about to receive FROM the ex community, their joy is just embarking!! Thank you for writing this article.
After 49 years of this dictatorial religion, I am so glad my own grown up children and Grandchildren are also released from the clutches of this unloving cult. The Bible has been totally changed by these people to justify their weird ideology. In Bible times the drinking of blood resulted in the death of the victim, so that is why it was wrong. Today blood can be used to save life and it should be up to each person to decide for themselves what is best for them and their family. The Governing Body of that religion are a bunch of hate filled anti-christs as they demote our Lord Yeshua to a low position.
I am sure they will tremble in fear when they have to bow/bend the knee to their Judge as Philippians 2 points out…EVERYONE will have to bend the knee to Yeshua, including every JW…be blessed Pastor David Hall
I am so happy that this family have decided to put the life of this beautiful little boy first that is what a. Loving God would want …
It takes a lot of guts to speak out publicly against WT doctrine – IF you are a JWs. Congrats to the family, and I hope the child get the help he needs. Wish them well!
The question of taking blood was put to rest just after the Jewish system had come to climax when the Christ was put to death . The Apostle Paul made it clear on the question of eating meat that had not been bled , from the meat markets . This was one way that the letters of the Apostles had supported Jesus , when he said , that it is not what goes into a man’s mouth that defiles him , ( but what [often] comes out . How sad it is that some religions who claim to be scholarly Christians have missed this transition forward from Judaism of that time ! Having one foot still standing on Jewish Law , and the other foot on their Christian “Theocracy” pedestal , Jehovah’s Witnesses have proved so bloodguilty ! Their “respect for blood” , which means Life , ought to tell them to preserve the lives of these innocent ones . Oh well . Just one more blunder for their history books . . .
I should add this . The “council” of elders in Jerusalem back in those days had come to a conclusion that the Christians in Jerusalem should abstain from blood because of the context of the issue between Jewish Christians and any other Christians who were there at that time . That direction was stated in order to keep the weaker-consciences of some Jewish Christians from condemning themselves , should they go ahead and eat blood . Paul discussed this with the Galatians . Those times have long passed . Why can’t JWs get past these elementary things ? ?
This situation puts the Watchtower Society in a very difficult spot. They essentially have two choices the way I see it.. 1. They can throw the family under the bus and deal with them as apostates for not publicly supporting the policy. 2. They can tolerate dissent. I believe its a lose, lose proposition for them. It also creates a great opportunity for us to reach out to other JW families who have children that are vulnerable to the WTS bizarre policy. For those not familiar with AJWRB, we have some excellent resources available to help educate and inform JWs like this introductory article which is available as a PDF: http://ajwrb.org/do-jehovahs-witnesses-really-abstain-from-blood
Lee, I think you make an excellent point here. I would also encourage readers to read and share the above-mentioned link. JWs, most ex-JWs and the non-JW world community have no idea how the Watchtower’s blood policy actually works, and how disconnected it is from good science and any scholarly well-researched understanding of the bible.
Good morning from Brasil.
This is the first time I am visiting this Website. I just came from JWsurvey`link. It seems very important to go on our reseach on Watchtower and you are doing very well exploring this specific issue concerning blood transfusions. Well, I must say that I have been doing some legal investigations here in Brasil about blood transfusions refusal and I came to the conclusion that Hospital Liaison Committees (COLIH in Brasil) isn`t able to help in any way when the medical or legal case is complex and urgent. I could see by myself one case which a woman was in real need of a surgery, but she had to have blood transfusion and there was not another way out. Well the witness did not do the surgery and died months ago. One month later, I decided to speak to a local elder about the situation of a witness who decides to take blood transfusion, and, to my surprise, he said that not even disfellowshiped the person would be, he told me this person would only receive some help to strengthen his/her faith. At that moment that woman case came to my mind and I thought to myself why didn`t the elders tell that woman that she could decide to take the blood to survive, that she would not be disfellowshiped? She would be alive now and forviven! I really don`t understand how can the GB sleep at night when at the same time hundreds of Jehovah s Witness are suffering and dying because of their interpretation of the Bible. Why don`t they consider the possibility of been wrong about blood transfusion interpretation and that they might be causing hundreds of deaths every year for nothing? Considering it all that I`ve been through, as Witness here in Brasil, I decided that I WON`T LET THE ONE`S THAT LOVE DIE BECAUSE OF BLOOD. I WILL DONATE OR TAKE BLOOD IF NEEDED. I really don`t think I am doing something wrong in Gods sight.
Paulo Sousa.
This is the problem, when an organisation claiming to be the ‘truth’ does not show any LOVE and condemns everyone who thinks or acts differently…seems like a Political party from the 1930 -1940s based in Germany. Accept their New World Order or else. So glad that we only now need to look to the only Truth….Jesus Christ who told us to stop Judging or we will be Judged…the WT do it all the time, everyone else is a part of Satans World according to them, the blood issue is just the tip of the Iceburg with this religion, they distort everything they touch…the prohibition of blood in Pauls day, was because the Romans drank the blood of slaves who died in arena’s and blood from animals as a part of their worship rituals to false dieties. Therefore this would not be acceptable for a Christian…
I recently discovered this: (Leviticus 3:16, 17) . . .The priest will make them smoke on the altar as food, an offering made by fire for a pleasing aroma. All the fat belongs to Jehovah. 17 “‘It is a lasting statute for your generations, in all your dwelling places: You must not eat any fat or any blood at all.’”
FAT and BLOOD are Jehovah’s food according to Jehovah’s Witnesses Bible! If the Watchtower Society insists about BLOOD, what about FAT?
The entire JW policy on blood transfusions is based on a deliberate mis-translation of the old testament into their “New” translation of Lev 18:5. They say “anyone who does so will live by means of them” but the proper translation of these words is “and you shall live by them”. The most fundamental principle of all civilized religions is that life is paramount and if it means not complying with the law so that life can be saved, then one must choose life. This is the exact and absolute reason why the Bible used this wording, In order to justify their policy of refusing blood transfusions they have had to resort to the biggest lie – a deliberate change of the meaning of the words in the Bible.
Being an observant Jew I am regularly targeted by JWs trying to convert me. I show them what the Bible actually says and of course they can’t answer because they can’t read Hebrew. They admit that none of the authors of their Bible could actually read Hebrew.
They also readily admit that the meat they eat has blood in it. The reason why Jews and Muslims slaughter animals in the way that they do is to get all the blood out of the body of the animal.
Another contradiction is that they allow transplants. First of all any transplanted organ will have blood in it. Secondly if they claim that transfusing is eating then that equally applies to transplants.