A mother Chelsea Reed and her son Justin were rushed into the hospital after they were injured in a car accident. Mrs. Reed has a head laceration and a fractured wrist. Her son is suffering from internal bleeding and needs to have emergency surgery to stop the bleeding. The doctor informs Mrs. Reed that Justin has lost thirty percent of blood volume and will be transfused before going into surgery to make sure he does not bleed out on the operation table. As a single mother, Mrs. Reed solely responsible for informing the doctor that she does not want blood to be used to increase the blood volume in her son. She believes that blood is sacred and should not be introduced into the body in any way. The doctor tries to reason with Mrs. Reed, that
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One reason they believe is that there are some religions that reject any kind of medical treatment and prefer to use faith based alternatives such as prayers and rituals. Many of their members, both adults and children, have died as a result of the refusal of appropriate medical care. One example is with the Lovell family. The AMA Journal of Ethics wrote “The Lovells consented to the debridement and surgical treatment and signed the consent form. Shortly thereafter the family's minister came to the hospital and prayed with Adam's parents for God to restore life to the devitalized tissues. Soon afterward, the Lovells rescinded consent to surgical treatment and communicated that they wished to allow time to elapse so that God could heal Adam's dead and injured tissues” (Orr par. 3). The Lovells were waiting to for their god to miraculously heal the child, but time was running out. Adam Lovell faced possible death by prolonging a necessary amputation. In a doctor’s defense, their role as a physician is to do his or her best of his or her knowledge to save or prolong a patient’s life by medical means. So when a patient is in need of blood, it is a doctor’s duty to do what he or she deems necessary to save the patient’s life. In his article, “Children of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Adolescent Jehovah’s Witnesses: What Are Their Rights?”, Dr. S. Wooley expresses that “(a) limited life experience cannot truly give one the opportunity to rationalize a belief that may eventually lead to death” regarding to minors who were raised within the Jehovah’s witness community. Dr. Wooley suggests that even minors do not know what is best for themselves in regards to their own medical treatment and the ultimate decision should be left to the physician who is
One reason they believe is that there are some religions that reject any kind of medical treatment and prefer to use faith based alternatives such as prayers and rituals. Many of their members, both adults and children, have died as a result of the refusal of appropriate medical care. One example is with the Lovell family. The AMA Journal of Ethics wrote “The Lovells consented to the debridement and surgical treatment and signed the consent form. Shortly thereafter the family's minister came to the hospital and prayed with Adam's parents for God to restore life to the devitalized tissues. Soon afterward, the Lovells rescinded consent to surgical treatment and communicated that they wished to allow time to elapse so that God could heal Adam's dead and injured tissues” (Orr par. 3). The Lovells were waiting to for their god to miraculously heal the child, but time was running out. Adam Lovell faced possible death by prolonging a necessary amputation. In a doctor’s defense, their role as a physician is to do his or her best of his or her knowledge to save or prolong a patient’s life by medical means. So when a patient is in need of blood, it is a doctor’s duty to do what he or she deems necessary to save the patient’s life. In his article, “Children of Jehovah’s Witnesses and Adolescent Jehovah’s Witnesses: What Are Their Rights?”, Dr. S. Wooley expresses that “(a) limited life experience cannot truly give one the opportunity to rationalize a belief that may eventually lead to death” regarding to minors who were raised within the Jehovah’s witness community. Dr. Wooley suggests that even minors do not know what is best for themselves in regards to their own medical treatment and the ultimate decision should be left to the physician who is