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Jehovah's Witness Ethical Dilemmas

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When it comes to the medical care of Jehovah’s Witnesses, there may be special challenges that are involved. In 1945, the Jehovah’s Witness blood doctrine determined that blood transfusions should be forbidden because it violates God’s law and will prevent Jehovah’s Witnesses from living eternally in God’s Kingdom (Wright,2014). The United States in 1990 passed the Federal Patient Self Determination Act, which requires physicians or healthcare providers must inform patients about their right to determine the care they will receive and the right that health care personnel to respect their decisions. Even if treatment is deemed lifesaving by a physician, the treatment may not be performed without the consent of a competent patient (US Congress,1990). …show more content…

If JW patients are forced to accept the treatment of a blood transfusion that goes against their beliefs, their autonomy is violated as patients. If the patient dies due to the results of refusing treatment, then there might be a sense that harm was done and that medical benefits was not available for this patient as it is available for other patients (Griffin,2015).
Once the patient refuses treatment, the health care team can enlighten the patient or elaborate more about the treatment. Explain to the patient why the treatment is dire to their well-being. Educating the patient about the treatment may give the patient a different aspect about the treatment. Also, the healthcare team should look into why the patient is refusing treatment.. Since the JW patient refuses blood transfusion due to religion beliefs, the health care team should look into alternative options for the treatment of chronic

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