Dear
Friends,
My 16 year old daughter, Bethany, was diagnosed with leukemia. As
Jehovah’s Witnesses we were not allowed to accept blood transfusions. The first day in the hospital I sat alone with
my daughter in her hospital room to strengthen her faith to refuse blood transfusions and die for Jehovah. I went
to the back of the Jehovah’s Witness bible and looked up every scripture that was listed under “BLOOD” and
I read out-loud the scripture to Bethany.
After reading each
scripture out-loud and meditating on it, I said to Bethany that that scripture does not apply in your situation. If you do
not take a blood transfusion you will die and if you take blood and get a disease it won’t really matter so much because
you are alive and have a fighting chance. After reading all the scriptures listed and then thinking of other scriptures about
God’s servants who had broken God’s law to survive, it dawned on me that live is a precious gift from our creator
and that it was scripturally alright to accept a blood transfusion and that to refuse a blood transfusion and die was scripturally
wrong. From that point on my family and friends shunned me.
The
Watchtower Society H.L.C. members then said that there was a plan in place to sneak my sick daughter out of the hospital and
to transport her from Calgary, Alberta 3,000 miles to Georgetown, Ontario at the Watchtower headquarters, to hide her. When
they said that, I knew they did not care about my daughter or my family. If they had succeeded with their plan,
my daughter would have died en-route.
There was a court hearing in the hospital ward,
and one hour before the hearing I went into my daughter’s room. All my family was there including my son-in-law. I
said “ No matter what happens in the court hearing, I want all of you to know that I love you”. All
my family replied at the same time, “I hate you........ I will never speak to you again”.
At the court hearing the Judge asked if I would sign a court order to have my daughter receive blood
transfusions against her will. I knew that if I signed the court order that my family would never speak to me.
It was the hardest decision I had ever made and the easiest decision I ever had to make. I grabbed the sheet of paper and
signed. I wanted my daughter to live, even if she would never speak to me again.
From that moment there was a fierce court battle brought upon by the Watchtower Society. Bethany
had sixteen lawyers from the Watchtower Society trying to stop the blood transfusions and the chemotherapy treatments. Almost
every week, sometimes several times a week we would be in court. The Watchtower lawyers came up with six different alternative
treatments which they bragged offered Bethany a much better chance of a cure without having to use blood transfusions. All
these treatments were proven in court to be false. Child Welfare got an apprehension and treatment order and Bethany received
all the treatments.
I would like to mention at this time that the doctors
and hospital staff were traumatized from all the goings on at the hospital ward and all the court proceedings. Also,
there were a great deal of resources and time being spent on caring for Bethany. The hospital had very limited
resources and space.
Two weeks before Bethany was to be discharged from
the hospital, skin cancer was discovered on her back. The doctors had a barrage of tests taken and all the tests
showed that there was no leukemia in Bethany and that the disease was in remission. The doctors testified that
the skin cancer was not life-threatening if treated with radiation. Dr. Coppes, the head of oncology at the hospital
lied in court and said that he had contacted the world expert of Pediatric Oncology, Doctor Robert Arceci and that Dr. Arceci
said that Bethany’s chances of survival was minute, infinitely small and that Dr. Arceci recommended palliative care
due to Bethany having skin cancer. Dr. Coppes also said that chances were Bethany would die within days. What
I think is that Dr. Coppes meant that if Bethany did not receive a blood transfusion she would die within days because Bethany
had just received a round of Chemotherapy which had killed off all her blood cells. I also believe that Dr. Coppes wanted
to end the constant battle with the Watchtower and be able to spend more time with his other patients.
After Bethany died, I contacted Dr. Arceci about the arsenic treatment that Bethany was given after
she was taken into hiding. During our conversation, I asked Dr. Arceci if Dr. Coppes had contacted him
about my daughter and did he recommend palliative care? After studying all the medical records Dr. Arceci contacted
me. Dr. Arceci said to me “ NO. Dr. Coppes had NOT contacted him and if Dr. Coppes had contacted him, he
would never had agreed to Palliative Care and that he would have recommended a number of other standard treatment protocols. Dr.
Arceci said that if Bethany had leukemia which all the tests proved she did not, Bethany’s chances of survival would
have been about 50%. If Bethany only had skin cancer which all the tests showed she did, then her chance of survival
was 100% if treated.
The Watchtower Society convinced my daughter and
her mother that arsenic would cure her skin cancer, and took them into hiding. Shane Brady, one of Bethany’s lawyers
sent a letter to a doctor Robert Turner (I have a copy of that letter) asking Dr. Turner to treat Bethany with arsenic. Dr.
Turner transfused Bethany with arsenic at his clinic. While in hiding, Child Welfare and my lawyer demanded to know where
they were hiding Bethany. The Watchtower lawyers refused to tell Child Welfare or myself.
After two months of receiving arsenic, Bethany was rushed to the hospital in
an ambulance. Bethany was in a great deal of distress and pain. She was in the hospital for a night and day and Dr. Turner
could have saved Bethany’s life at that point by giving her a blood transfusion. Instead, Dr. Turner discharged Bethany.
Bethany then went blind and then she died the next day. The arsenic had killed off all her blood cells and she
died of congestive heart failure. The doctors could have saved her life at any point during that two month period
right up until the last day by giving her a blood transfusion. I believe Bethany could be alive today, if she had
received proper medical treatments.
How many more Jehovah Witness children and adults
have to bleed to death before we put an end to it? How many more of our family members have to die needlessly as martyrs for
this Cult before we do something to end it? If one Jehovah Witness dies needlessly for this religion, it is one too many!
I have filed a lawsuit against the Watchtower Society, their lawyers and the
doctors for the Wrongful Death of my daughter. The Watchtower Society has tried every angle to have this lawsuit thrown out
of court and failed. A panel of three Judges at the Court of Appeals have unanimously decided that this lawsuit has enough
merit to go to Trial.
There is nothing stopping this lawsuit from going
to trial ..............except for one thing.............lack of funds. Will you help me to put an end to
the Watchtower Society’s ban on blood transfusions? Will you help me put an end to the Watchtower Society? I
need you to send me donations to continue this lawsuit. I need you to send me money NOW. I need you to send me
money today! I have three weeks to come up with some money or the lawsuit ENDS.
Please contact me at: watchtowerlawsuit@yahoo.com
or visit :
www.watchtowerlawsuit.com
or
visit: youtube video "INSTITUTIONAL
MURDER"
Thanks,
Lawrence Hughes
