Religion Better Than Science: Religious Child Refuses Treatment, Dies From Leukemia

As part and parcel of the theme of this website, I have often been railed at for utterly dismantling ridiculous dogma in the face of a rapidly civilized and modernized world. While readers may have differing perceptions, I reckon that my anger against religious bigotry, ignorance and all manner of social ills pertaining to religion is very much justified.

Sometimes, the juxtaposition of modern day thinking and Bronze Age beliefs are so irreconcilable that, if one was to be perfectly frank, he or she will surmise that religion no longer contributes positively to our increasingly secular civilization.

Most of us, including religious folks, will not waste a single sec to visit the doctor first when they fall sick: Reverends and priests must make way and stand aside for medical professionals who have the expertise and knowledge to dispense medication to help the patient recover from his or her ailment. A perfectly logical move too: Gone are the days when patients will seek the help of priests to cure their diseases, whence the priests will prescribe exorcism, blood letting or even the killing of the perfidious Jew as a remedy for their ailments. 21st century Science is, after all, far superior than 13th century hocus pocus.

What happens, then, when ancient dogma clashes with modern day Science? Or in this case, a patient rejecting medical treatment in deference to an irrelevant religious dogma? The result: Unnecessary death caused by abject ignorance.

Boy dies of leukemia after refusing treatment for religious reasons
Thursday, November 29, 2007

The Life-Saving Transfusion of Blood: It Might Have Saved 14 yr-old Dennis. Sadly, he Got Brainwashed by His Aunt.

Because of his faith, Dennis Lindberg, 14, didn't want vital transfusions; his biological parents did. A judge sided with the son, who died last night.

His life began under trying circumstances. Now, at the age of 14, his life has ended the same way.

For Dennis Lindberg, most of his childhood depended on the kindness of strangers to help him survive. A few weeks ago, he made a decision that contributed to his death Wednesday night.

The Mount Vernon teenager was diagnosed with leukemia Nov. 8 and since then had been confined to Seattle's Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center.

Doctors said he needed blood transfusions to survive potentially lifesaving cancer treatments. But as a practicing Jehovah's Witness, Lindberg refused. Despite his age, he had been declared what is known as a "mature minor," meaning he was considered mature enough to make decisions about his treatment.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe accepting a blood transfusion violates God's law.

His aunt, Dianna Mincin, became his legal guardian four years ago after his father, now a recovering addict, was jailed for drug possession.

Mincin is also a Jehovah's Witness, and supported Dennis' decision.

The boy's biological parents did not.

Dennis Lindberg Sr. -- Mincin's brother -- and Rachel Wherry flew to Seattle from their home in Boise on Tuesday to attend a 9 a.m. hearing, hoping a judge could force the transfusions.

Wednesday morning, after hearing from the parents, the aunt, social workers and the boy's doctor, Skagit County Superior Court Judge John Meyer denied the plea. About 9 p.m., Lindberg Sr. called the Seattle P-I to say his son had died in his hospital bed.

With the transfusions and other treatment, Lindberg had been given a 70 percent chance of surviving the next five years, Meyer said in court, based on what the boy's doctors told him. Without them, he was likely to die. But his decision in what the judge called a "stunning case, which brings into play issues including, but not confined to, religious freedoms," was based strictly on facts.

Religious Dogma vs Medical Treatment

A couple of issues went through my mind, as I was reading and contemplating the loss of what I feel is a potentially savable life.

First of all, the term "mature minor" is legal jargon that doesn't register in my brain: If you are not an adult, then obviously you are a minor. But.........a mature minor? That sounds really ambiguous indeed. At what age is a minor deemed "mature"? A square circle may come in handy here.

At the tender age of 14, surely the parents ought to have custody over the boy's treatment, and in my opinion, the parents and the State ought to dispense medical treatment to the minor: With a 70% chance of surviving the next five years, I find it quite surreal that the judge had the audacity to agree on the side of the patient. The law, it seems, protects the lives of minors, right up to and stopping at the point where religion steps in to over-write all that is secular.

Origins of Anti-Transfusion Agenda

What makes it incredibly galling for me is the amount of influence the aunt exerts on the cancer-stricken boy: Apparently, Aunt Mincin is one of those incredibly brainless folks, otherwise known as the Jehovah's Witnesses, who will refuse blood transfusions even in the most dramatic of emergencies, citing "religious sentiments" as the critical reason. More often than not, the sordid act of refusing blood transfusions translates to death, & yet, these JW assholes are not the least perturbed. The reason, it seems, can be found in the most unholy of nonsenses: The Holy Babble.

Apparently, the JW's taboo on blood is based on the Kosher Law of the OT, which prohibits the consumption of blood:

"It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:
You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality." Acts 15:28-29

"For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. 12 Therefore I say to the Israelites, "None of you may eat blood, nor may an alien living among you eat blood."" Leviticus 17:11-12

Poorly Written Bible: Opened to All Kinds of Interpretations

It is incredibly obvious to even the dumbest Christian that blood transfusion has nothing to do with drinking or consuming blood: After all, the early bible scribes couldn't possibly have know anything about blood transfusions (hence their low opinion of the fluid). But being staunch fundamentalists of the lunatic sort, the JW has found it prudent to impose a no-blood transfusion ban upon its flock, which in essence translates to a premeditated death sentence to those pious enough to buy into this nonsensically murderous bullshit.

The modern day atheist will argue that such religious stupidity would have been avoided if people would stop reading the babble: An utterly disjointed set of scriptures clobbered together by murderous popes and bishops & unscrupulously amended wholesale by generations of propaganda-driven translators, the holy babble is so poorly written that any moron worth his salt can interpret the babble in whichever way he or she chooses. One can, of course, blame the reader, but why blame the reader when the book lends itself to all kinds of frivolous interpretations?

Religious Taboos Against Science: Only The Masses Suffer

From spreading lies about the porous condoms, to the Religious Rights' opposition of cervical cancer vaccines as agents of promiscuity, Religion has often imposed itself upon medical advances with often archaic, morally slanted excuses. It is time for people, especially professional people from the medical and legal fields, to stop bending backwards and yield to religious bias at the expense of losing unnecessary lives.

After all, if respecting a religion means killing a human life indirectly, I'd rather kick religion in the ass and shove a butt plug up the ass of a bible-spewing priest. & if I ever have the chance to meet this fundamentalist aunt of the dead boy, I will spare no effort to remind her that the blood of the boy is on her hands. I hope she sleeps well at night, no doubt comforted by the delusion that she had sent the "soul" of the boy straight into the awaiting arms of Gawd.




-"A long acquaintance with the literature of the Witnesses leads one to the conclusion that they live in the intellectual twilight zone. ... Whenever their literature strays onto the fields of philosophy, academic theology, science or any severe mental discipline, their ideas at best mirror popular misconceptions; at worst they are completely nonsensical."

-Alan Rogerson