Ethical Issues and the Religious and Historical Basis for the Objection of Jehovah's Witnesses to Blood Transfusion Therapy

Ethical Issues and the Religious and Historical Basis for the Objection of Jehovah's Witnesses to Blood Transfusion Therapy
Author: André Carbonneau
Publisher:
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2003
Genre: Medical
ISBN:

This book explores the sensitive area of medical decision-making in cases where a patient refuses recommended medical treatment for religious or moral reasons. The case in point is the refusal of blood transfusion therapy by Jehovah's Witnesses. The theological and historical basis is examined in depth. The history of blood use in medicine is also analyzed, including the role of bloodletting as the 'queen of remedies' for centuries and eventually the emergence of the reverse practice, blood transfusion. Against this backdrop of theological, historical, and medical information, the study examines the ethical and legal issues raised by the stand of Jehovah's Witnesses. The principle of 'autonomy' and its development into a legal concept, as well as its introduction into medical ethics leading to the development of the doctrine of 'informed consent' into both a legal rule as well as an ethical duty imposed on health care professionals are considered.

Contemporary Debates in Bioethics

Contemporary Debates in Bioethics
Author: Arthur L. Caplan
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 538
Release: 2013-07-22
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1118328477

Contemporary Debates in Bioethics features a timely collection of highly readable, debate-style arguments contributed by many of today's top bioethics scholars, focusing on core bioethical concerns of the twenty-first century. Written in an engaging, debate-style format for accessibility to non-specialists Features general introductions to each topic that precede scholarly debates Presents the latest, cutting-edge thoughts on relevant bioethics ideas, arguments, and debates

Sacrifice: the Altar of Obedience

Sacrifice: the Altar of Obedience
Author: Daniel Rodriguez
Publisher:
Total Pages: 107
Release: 2017-03-02
Genre:
ISBN: 9781520710105

In the United States, it is estimated that thousands of Jehovah's Witness' adults and children die for refusing blood transfusions on an annual basis. At this writing, the Watchtower occupies 233 countries where thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses refuse blood transfusions; and yes, countless continue to die. Because the Watchtower is believed to speak for Jehovah God, the Jehovah's Witnesses render full obedience to Watchtower teaching. To reject the "council" of the Watchtower is to reject the "council" of Jehovah God Himself. This is the authority that drives the Jehovah's Witnesses to unquestioned obedience to the Watchtower organization - even to the point of death.The purpose of this book is to first help the reader understand how the Watchtower is able to convince their Witnesses that receiving blood transfusions is a punishable offense sanctioned by Jehovah God; second, to have the Jehovah's Witnesses take a look at the Watchtower's position on this teaching probably never known before; third, to give the Witnesses free-thinking positions to consider. Jehovah's Witnesses and non-Witnesses alike have the right to refuse medical treatment - even a blood transfusion; however, matters such as this should be made out of one's own free will. No one, including religious institutions (such as the Watchtower Society), has the right to impose their wills on others by the use of guilt and fear - specifically when it comes to choosing medical advice. The purpose of this book is not to convince anyone to take a blood transfusion. The author's focus is to have the reader evaluate the contents, check the citations, come to their own conclusions and make their own decisions.

The Abuse of Casuistry

The Abuse of Casuistry
Author: Albert R. Jonsen
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 438
Release: 1988
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780520060630

In this engaging study, the authors put casuistry into its historical context, tracing the origin of moral reasoning in antiquity, its peak during the sixteenth and early seventeenth century, and its subsequent fall into disrepute from the mid-seventeenth century.

Flesh and Blood

Flesh and Blood
Author: Susan E. Lederer
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2008-04-24
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 0199721912

Organ transplantation is one of the most dramatic interventions in modern medicine. Since the 1950s thousands of people have lived with 'new' hearts, kidneys, lungs, corneas, and other organs and tissues transplanted into their bodies. From the beginning, though, there was simply a problem: surgeons often encountered shortages of people willing and able to give their organs and tissues. To overcome this problem, they often brokered financial arrangements. Yet an ethic of gift exchange coexisted with the 'commodification of the body'. The same duality characterized the field of blood transfusion, which was essential to the development of modern surgery. This book will be the first to bring together the histories of blood transfusion and organ transplantation. It will show how these two fields redrew the lines between self and non-self, the living and the dead, and humans and animals. Drawing on newspapers, magazines, legal cases, films and the papers and correspondence of physicians and surgeons, Lederer will challenge the assumptions of some bioethicists and policymakers that popular fears about organ transplantation necessarily reflect timeless human concerns and preoccupations with the body. She will show how notions of the body- intact, in parts, living and dead- are shaped by the particular culture in which they are embedded.

Resolving Ethical Dilemmas

Resolving Ethical Dilemmas
Author: Bernard Lo
Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2013-04-29
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1469826062

Now in its Fifth Edition, this respected reference helps readers tackle the common and often challenging ethical issues that affect patient care. The book begins with a concise discussion of clinical ethics that provides the background information essential to understanding key ethical issues. Readers then explore a wide range of real-world ethical dilemmas, each accompanied by expert guidance on salient issues and how to approach them. The book’s two-color design improves retention of material for visual learners. An accompanying website lets readers access the full text, along with features designed to reinforce understanding and test knowledge. New to the Fifth Edition: This edition includes new discussions of ethical issues as they relate to clinical practice guidelines and evidence-based medicine, electronic medical records, genetic testing, and opioid prescription. The book also includes an increased focus on ethical issues in ambulatory care. Readers will also find more detailed analysis of cases, more examples of ethical reasoning, more highlight pages relating clinical ethics to emergency medicine, oncology, palliative care, and family medicine. Also new are discussions of quality improvement and use of advance care planning rather than advance directives.

Clinical Ethics in Anesthesiology

Clinical Ethics in Anesthesiology
Author: Gail A. Van Norman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2010-10-28
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1139489852

Ethical issues facing anesthesiologists are more far-reaching than those involving virtually any other medical specialty. In this clinical ethics textbook, authors from across the USA, Canada and Europe draw on ethical principles and practical knowledge to provide a realistic understanding of ethical anesthetic practice. The result is a compilation of expert opinion and international perspectives from clinical leaders in anesthesiology. Building on real-life, case-based problems, each chapter is clinically focused and addresses both practical and theoretical issues. Topics include general operating room care, pediatric and obstetrical patient care, the intensive care unit, pain practice, research and publication, as well as discussions of lethal injection, disclosure of errors, expert witness testimony, triage in disaster and conflicts of interest with industry. An important reference tool for any anesthesiologist, whether clinical or research-oriented, this book is especially valuable for physicians involved in teaching residents and students about the ethical aspects of anesthesia practice.

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses
Author: Andrew Holden
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2012-11-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 113450151X

This is the first major study of the enigmatic religious society. By examining the Jehovah's Witnesses' dramatic recent expansion, Andrew Holden reveals the dependency of their quasi-totalitarian movement on the physical and cultural resources have brought about the privatization of religion, the erosion of community, and the separation of 'fact' from faith.