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I thought some of you might be interested in this story of a 14 year old who chose to die because he was indoctrinated into the Jehovah's Witnesses by his aunt (who ended up becoming his legal guardian after a concerned person threatened to call CPS on his parents). It is one of the more detailed accounts I've seen of how these kinds of cases go and how it affects the survivors left behind when the JW view against blood transfusions causes a death: http://kuow.org/post/when-14-year-old-chooses-die-because-religion-can-anyone-stop-him I think it is very relevant to note that the kid in this case had become baptized into the JW religion at the age of 13, just a few months before he became sick. That's a big deal because JWs have a policy that once you have been baptized (even if you are a kid when you're baptized), you can be punished for breaking the rules of the JW faith through disfellowshipping (which essentially means that everyone in the JW religion is supposed to shun you unless you are able to show you are repentant and work your way back into their approval). Accepting a blood transfusion is definitely grounds for being shunned in this way. I do wonder if this poor kid, who had so much trouble finding stability in his life before his aunt took him in and introduced him to the JWs, might not have been so determined to die if it was not for the fear of being shunned by his JW community if he did accept the blood. I think the doctors made a HUGE mistake by not insisting that the JWs leave the room every time they talked to him about blood, because if he was scared about being shunned or having doubts, he certainly would not have admitted that in front of other JWs knowing the potential risk of punishment if he was seen as giving in to "the world". There is more background info on disfellowshipping and shunning here for those who want more context: http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/disfellowship-shunning.php