Jehovah’s Witness Emma Gough Died After Refusing Blood Transfusion
Filed under: News | By: Kerry
Posted on: November 5, 2007 | 42 Comments
Friends of Emma Gough where told last night how the devout Jehovah’s Witness cuddled her newborn twins then died just hours later after refusing a blood transfusion.
Emma who was just 22 whose life could have been saved after complications set in ticked a form before the birth insisting she should not be given blood.
It’s reported that Medics begged her husband Anthony and other members of Emma’s family to overrule her after she suffered severe blood loss and began slipping away.
But because Jehovah’s Witnesses are barred from having transfusions they refused insisting the young mum would not want to betray her principles.
Stunned friends last night described her grieving husband a fellow Witness who has been left to bring up the motherless twin boy and girl as distraught.
Peter Welsh who was the couple’s best man at their wedding said that “We can’t believe she died after childbirth in this day and age, with all the technology there is. What makes it even more sad is Emma had time to hold and start to bond with her twins before the complications set in.”
But the truth here is that the medics could have probley saved Emma but because of Emma’s faith they could not. I think that if someone could be saved especially in these circumstances then her family should have done what ever it took whether that is against their faith just to save her so she could have been with her babies.
What do you think?
Emma died in the early hours of October 25, a week last Thursday.
Both sides of the family including Anthony’s parents Sham and Ian Gough closed ranks and remained tight-lipped.
A woman relative mixing baby feeds for the twins at Emma’s home insisted: “We have nothing to say.”
Best man Peter – also a Jehovah’s Witness – said: “Luckily Anthony is part of a big family.”
Part of the Jehovah faith says the Bible prohibits the “consumption, storage and transfusion of blood” and quotes the book of Acts and its said that some Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that to have a transfusion is the same as consuming or eating blood.
A spokesman for the local Kingdom Hall, where Emma and Anthony worshipped, said: “This is a terrible time for the whole family. They are all grieving terribly. The entire Witness community is distraught and including them in their prayers.”
A coroner’s office source confirmed: “We are investigating why she did not have a transfusion. An inquest will be held.”
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“I cannot believe that people would refuse life saving medical care on the grounds of religion when it would almost certainly have saved her life. Which she would have been able to spend with her husband and twins. How crazy!”
“IN ANY INSTANCE IT IS NOT THE CHOICE OF INOCENT CHILDREN TO BE DEPRIVED OF A PARENT BECAUSE OF A DECEISION MADE BASED ON MISINTERPRITATION OF CONTEXT.”
“What a waste of a human life, there are people in the world dying from disease and cancers, and only wish to be treated so they can survive to see another day, I can’t understand why someone would refuse medical assistance over religous reasons, when will people start to understand that there will not be a resurrection get a grip live your life now.”
“This deadly doctrine by the Watchtower leadership is killing men,woman and babies.”
When i read comments such as these i think of the 50,000,000 unborn babies that have been murdered in just the last 30 years.
I know the stance their members take on morality and abortion issues. The beliefs of this religion would save the lives of thousands of poor children who are being murdered every day.
They also refuse to kill in the name of war. How many millions have died, how many children have had to grow up without a parent as a result of senseless slaughter?
And yet some get hysterical against them when one of their members dies for these beliefs.
Emma Gough died for nothing. Too bad she has all these blogs on her when other people who make right decisions in life, work to the betterment of society their entire lives, don’t leave their children without a mother, don’t follow stupid religious cults, and so on, never even get a “Thank You”.