Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Advanced Healthcare Directive Letter From Governing Body

The Watchtower sent out a letter to all elders to be discussed at the elders meetings. The letter asked the elders to ensure that all Jehovah's Witnesses have a copy of the Advanced Healthcare Directive filed with the congregation secretary.
Each book study overseer has to make a list of how many in his group have completed an Advanced Healthcare Directive and each secretary has to make a list of how many copies he has. The body of elders are told to "discuss as a body how best to provide assistance for those who have not yet completed this important document." Apparently "many have evidently not filled in the document and few have submitted it for filing with the congregation secretary."
It would seem that the problem is that there are numerous occasions when an unconscious or very ill witness is in hospital and a form cannot be located. There is also a particular concern that elderly ones don't have a document or, at least, haven't completed one when they are lucid.
So even though blood transfusions are forbidden simply because the Governing Body says so, they want to keep the appearance that every Jehovah's Witnesses is deciding individually not to take a blood transfusion and what factions they will accept.
The whole thing is really a nightmare for the Governing Body. To those who want a blood transfusions with no strings attached, go to Bulgaria. The Bulgarian government would not allow the Jehovah's Witnesses in unless they agreed that their members could have a blood transfusion without consequences.

10 comments:

Unknown said...
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Anonymous said...

well, that says it all..the Bulgarian government, advanced insightful group of people that they are, has set the standard. So it must be true. Everybody gets some blood. How nice of them. When I need a major operation on my body Bulgaria is the place for me!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

No need to say anything on that.

you have free will so you make your choice.

kimmy jo said...

Last time I checked blood was blood, whether it be whole or broken down into fractions. They taught for many years, no blood,none at all, but now they say fractions are OK if your conscious allows. That's like saying you can't eat cow but you can have a steak! They are so responsible for all the lives lost due to this issue. Doesn't the Bible call that being "bloodguilty".
Their wanting to keep track of this is more BS about sheparding the flock or might one say "keeping a thumb over you", just more control and power.

Anonymous said...

See ya in Bulgaria, isn't that where Vampires live??? You folks on this site should love the blood fest.

Anonymous said...

"See ya in Bulgaria, isn't that where Vampires live??? You folks on this site should love the blood fest."

Why are you getting so snippy with us? It is your precious Governing Body that made the deal with the Bulgarians and not us. If you are going to be snippy then turn it on the Governing Body.

Also, I don't think anyone purposly seeks out a blood transfusion. If at all possible we would all like to have surgery without the transfusion. But in cases of trauma, in an emergency, sometimes the only recourse to save your life is a blood transfusion. I think we should have the right to choose for ourselves whether we want life or not. The Bible tells us that Jehovah values life. The Bible's prohibition against blood was a DIETARY prohibition NOT a medical one. Ask any Jew.

S said...

"So even though blood transfusions are forbidden simply because the Governing Body says so,"

Huh.

No JW believes that.

JWs refuse blood because the Bible says so.

" they want to keep the appearance that every Jehovah's Witnesses is deciding individually not to take a blood transfusion and what factions they will accept."

It is an individual decision.

" The Bulgarian government would not allow the Jehovah's Witnesses in unless they agreed that their members could have a blood transfusion without consequences."

The Bulgaria government has no choice but to allow JWs. I can not be banned. I am a person.

S said...

Kimmy Jo:

" They taught for many years, no blood,none at all, but now they say fractions are OK if your conscious allows."

That is because the Bible is ambiguous about anything beyond the components of blood. So it is not that "they", whoever they are, saying that it is ok, it is that the Bible does not specific anything beyond the 4 major components are forbidden.

kimmy jo said...

"that's like saying you can't eat cow but you can have a steak."