Der Glaube der Zeugen Jehovas und der ärztliche Heilauftrag
The treatment of Jehovah’s Witnesses presents physicians, particularly in surgery with challenges when a foreign blood transfusion is necessary but the patient dissents on religious grounds. However, in an acute situation the physician cannot withdraw from the affair by simply declining treatment or an intervention because there is a legal obligation to treat patients. If a competent patient makes use of the right to self-determination and refuses a blood transfusion, this wish must be respected otherwise the conditions for premeditated battery are fulfilled. In cases of incompetency the presumed wishes of the patient must be taken into account. If, as is often the case, the patient is in possession of a written document which orders a blood transfusion to be refused, such an authorization is fundamentally binding whereby here certain procedural steps must be adhered to.If a minor Jehovah’s Witness is in need of a blood transfusion but parental consent is denied, the physician is obliged to initiate proceedings with the Family Court and in emergency cases is justified in carrying out a blood transfusion to save the life of the child even against the explicit wishes of the parents.