Jehovah's Witness “wrongful life” lawsuit dismissed

[moobu2]

This happened a little earlier this month. The issues are pretty simple...

Ms. DiGeronimo, the plaintiff, was a Jehovah's Witness and viewed blood transfusions as sinful to whatever extent. These people take this pretty seriously and a lot of them die over it. I knew a woman who's husband allowed her to die on the operating table by not giving permision for her to receive blood. Anyway, Ms. DiGeronimo suffered medical complications while giving birth and needed a blood transfusion in order to survive. She designated her husband to be her medical proxy. When the medical crisis occurred and it became apparent that Ms. DiGeronimo needed the blood, she was unconscious and was unable to give informed consent, so, the doctors asked her husband who was legally acting on her behalf and he gave permission for the transfusion and the doctors performed the medical procedure which ended up saving Ms. DiGeronimo's life. When Ms. DiGeronimo woke up in her hospital bed, and not on a cloud with baby Jesus, she was pissed and sued everybody for saving her life. Here's the news article.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- She received a life-saving blood transfusion when complications arose after she gave birth to a healthy boy.

Even so, Nancy DiGeronimo, a Jehovah's Witness, sued her doctor and Staten Island University Hospital for medical malpractice alleging the transfusions of another person's blood conflicted with her religious beliefs.

But a Staten Island justice has dismissed the 5-year-old case against Dr. Allen Fuchs and University Hospital, ruling the transfusion didn't deviate from accepted standards of care and that Ms. DiGeronimo had failed to show the infusion of someone else's blood had hurt her.

Ms. DiGeronimo, then 34, was released from the hospital on April 9, 2004, five days after giving birth.

"The plaintiff's argument, taken to its logical conclusion, is that the doctor should have allowed her to die rather than give her an 'allogenic' blood transfusion," state Supreme Court Justice Joseph J. Maltese wrote in a decision handed down Thursday. "Since the plaintiff's transfusion saved her life, this action is analogous to one for 'wrongful life' against the doctor. However, there is no cause of action for 'wrongful life' in the state of New York.

Click here for the entire story

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[GodlessBiker]

2. I wonder how that marriage worked out.

[sakabatou]

4. "You didn't kill me! How DARE you!"

:shrug:

[progressoid]

3. Wrongful life? You just can't make this shit up.

:facepalm:

[Name removed]

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[struggle4progress]

6. I don't understand the Witnesses. But I expect they think I'm crazy too. So when they

show at my door, I just tell em I agree with them about some things and disagree about others. I tell em I won't become a Witness. I also tell em that I agree with their anti-war stand and that I really admire the Witnesses who suffered for refusing to give the Nazi salute. I don't tell em what I disagree with them about, because the argument would be pointless. I'm happy if they leave smiling

There's a corny story I've heard told around here, maybe everybody's heard it by now, about the man and the flood

Rain starts fallin. The guy's neighbors drop by to say they're gettin out and have room in their car for him. He says, no, he'll just pray. Rain's still fallin. A big truck pulls up, water up to the floorboards; folk say they're pickin people up. Does he want a ride? No, he'll continue praying. More rain, water up to his porch. Boat floats up, offers to take him to safety. No thanks! he's gonna pray. Water rises; he gets up on his roof. A helicopter flies by and lowers a ladder. He waves them off: he wants to pray for help. House gets swept away in the flood. Guy arrives in heaven, waterlogged. Complains to Saint Peter: he was praying constantly! why wasn't his life spared? Saint Peter starts flippin through his records: Lemme see *flipflip* We sent you a car *flipflipflip* and a truck *flipflip* and a boat *flipflipflip* and a helicopter ...

I don't understand the Witnesses

[Cirque du So-What]

7. JWs have never been given a free rein regarding life-or-death decisions related to health care

Give this dissertation a run-through:

http://www.afn.org/~afn52344/dissertation3.html

The Witnesses do not seem prone to sue when their religious freedom is respected, so in many situations Witnesses may be dying with no resulting court action.211 Similarly in many situations Witnesses may be quietly submitting to a transfusion although they would avoid publicity for obvious reasons.212 Some physicians have been able to persuade Witnesses to allow a transfusion, especially for children.213 More often, though, pleas for consent from the Witnesses have been futile. In general the Witnesses appear to be remaining very firm in their convictions, even though many doctors are convinced that apart from peer pressure numerous Witnesses would consent to a lifesaving

If anyone can say with a straight face that it's alright for a religion to exert so much peer pressure upon its adherents that they choose to die or allow someone under their care to die, then they're made of tougher stuff than me.