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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Mother dies after refusing blood | Mother dies after refusing blood |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| A young mother has died just hours after giving birth to twins because her Jehovah's Witness faith prevented her from accepting a blood transfusion. | A young mother has died just hours after giving birth to twins because her Jehovah's Witness faith prevented her from accepting a blood transfusion. |
| Emma Gough, 22, from Telford, Shropshire, gave birth at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on 25 October. | |
| Just hours later, complications set in - but because of Mrs Gough's faith, doctors were powerless to save her. | |
| Terry Lovejoy, spokesman for Jehovah's Witnesses in Telford, said: "We share the family's very real grief." | |
| 'Risk of death' | |
| Mr Lovejoy, who is in contact with the family, said he didn't want to comment further until the full facts had emerged and a hospital review had taken place. | |
| The twins, who are healthy, are being cared for by their father, Anthony Gough, 24. | The twins, who are healthy, are being cared for by their father, Anthony Gough, 24. |
| Jehovah's Witnesses refuse blood transfusions because they believe that God has forbidden it in the Bible. They believe that accepting a blood transfusion is a sin. | |
| Mr Lovejoy said: "We follow the Bible and abstain from blood and I've no reason to believe Emma felt any differently." | |
| Head of Science and Ethics at the British Medical Association, Dr Vivienne Nathanson, said: "If somebody believes that having blood will excommunicate them from their religious beliefs, then they will often say no and accept the risk of death." |