Physicians attending to a premature baby girl born to two parents who are Jehovah’s Witnesses appealed to the judiciary to make a ruling that would allow physicians to give the premature baby a blood transfusion. The parents had denied the transfusion on grounds their religion did not allow this.
The 15-day baby girl presented complications that required the medical transfusion to treat the macrocytic class of anemia and acute bacterial process. When the parents denied the treatment for their infant, the medics appealed to the Attorney General who authorized the medical procedure be carried out against the wishes of the patient’s parents. The parents then had to accept the decision of the Children’s Court that ordered the Santiago clinic to preserve the life of the child.
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the Bible prohibits ingesting blood and that Christians should not accept blood transfusions or donate or store their own blood for transfusion. The belief is based on an interpretation of scripture that differs from that of other Christian denominations. The Jehovah’s Witnesses say that both the Old and New Testaments clearly command them to abstain from blood. (Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17:10; Deuteronomy 12:23; Acts 15:28, 29)
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El Dia
9 October 2017
