A 34-year-old woman with three chilcrren presents pregnant at 20 weeks of gestational age with anemia and severe gastrointestinal bleeding requiring transtusron to save her life. She is a Jehovah’s Witness and she is refusing biooj tr"r.rr-f.rrion. \Vhat should you do?
- a. Honor her wishes, no transfision.
- b. No transfusion now but the transfusion is mandatory after the second trinlester when thc fetus is a potentially viable baby.
- c. 'liansfuse the patient.
- d. Seek a court order mandating the transfusion.
- e. Get consent of the father of the babv
0 voters
exp:
(a) Honor her wishes; no transfusion.
The pregnancy has no impact on the ability of a competent adult,s right to refuse therapv. As long as the fetus is inside her body, the fetus does not have the independent rights of a person. The fetus is considered the same as her body. personhood for the fetus is only a consideration after the delivery. The same answer would be true even ifshe were in her third trimester ofpregnancy. The consent ofthe father is irrelevant. The father is not the one receiying th.-t.nnrfurinn. Do not seek his opin_ ion. The courts cannot orde refusing