The unique story by a hemophiliac who spent part of her childhood in a fundamentalist cult that only prohibited one type of medical treatment--the one she needed to stay alive--is now available for download.
This first-ever critique of the church by a hemophiliac member details her experiences nearly dying for the church. The church's now-failed 1975 apocalyptic prediction diminished her ability to get proper treatment. Her family and church elders adopted a dismissive attitude, because the resurrection was to happen in the immediate future.
As a young child, pastors did practice drills with her on how to evade medical questions, refuse blood, and escape from a hospital if given a transfusion. She suffered bleeding episodes that lasted hours, even days at a time, while having grisly adventures trying to survive amidst kooky cultists who claimed she was a demon-possessed vampire.
The church's archaic beliefs about the inferiority of women affected their handling of this girl's medical care, right down to telling her that her life-threatening menstrual periods were deserved because of Eve's original sin. The church's teachings at the time claimed women were intellectually and spiritually inferior.
An effective treatment for her disorder--birth control pills--was not allowed because elders claimed it would cause her to be morally loose. Members even interfered with how she held her head during nosebleeds and told her she would be regarded as "damaged goods, like a rape victim" if she had a transfusion.
As an adult, she spoke with a former member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, who informed her the church had secretly reversed its position on hemophilia treatment without announcing it, for fear of embarrassing itself over its wrong decision. It was this that led her to share her personal story and the private details of her experience that illuminate the brutality of the church's actions in her case.
The article contains extensive references to church literature and secular sources to support her claims.
The church's teachings and actions have not improved much since then. Their website still clearly states this medical treatment is a serious sin. In the mid-1990s its magazine cover proudly featured photos of children who died from failure to get this treatment.
For more information regarding concerns over the church's actions and teachings, visit http://ajwrb.org/.
This first-ever critique of the church by a hemophiliac member details her experiences nearly dying for the church. The church's now-failed 1975 apocalyptic prediction diminished her ability to get proper treatment. Her family and church elders adopted a dismissive attitude, because the resurrection was to happen in the immediate future.
As a young child, pastors did practice drills with her on how to evade medical questions, refuse blood, and escape from a hospital if given a transfusion. She suffered bleeding episodes that lasted hours, even days at a time, while having grisly adventures trying to survive amidst kooky cultists who claimed she was a demon-possessed vampire.
The church's archaic beliefs about the inferiority of women affected their handling of this girl's medical care, right down to telling her that her life-threatening menstrual periods were deserved because of Eve's original sin. The church's teachings at the time claimed women were intellectually and spiritually inferior.
An effective treatment for her disorder--birth control pills--was not allowed because elders claimed it would cause her to be morally loose. Members even interfered with how she held her head during nosebleeds and told her she would be regarded as "damaged goods, like a rape victim" if she had a transfusion.
As an adult, she spoke with a former member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, who informed her the church had secretly reversed its position on hemophilia treatment without announcing it, for fear of embarrassing itself over its wrong decision. It was this that led her to share her personal story and the private details of her experience that illuminate the brutality of the church's actions in her case.
The article contains extensive references to church literature and secular sources to support her claims.
The church's teachings and actions have not improved much since then. Their website still clearly states this medical treatment is a serious sin. In the mid-1990s its magazine cover proudly featured photos of children who died from failure to get this treatment.
For more information regarding concerns over the church's actions and teachings, visit http://ajwrb.org/.
Even though the church now allows hemophiliacs to take their medicine, they're still slamming them for it on their website today: http://www.watchtower.org/e/19990422a/article_01.htm
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