1186: Pregnant Woman Victoria Paris Dies After Alleged Blood Transfusion Refusal by Jehovah’s Witness Doctor in Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Medium (Personal)
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/05/11
Victoria Paris died during childbirth on May 10, 2025, at Standard Maternity Clinic in Borokiri Church Hill in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Paris was seven months pregnant. She was rushed to the Standard Maternity Clinic in Port Harcourt. She was having severe abdominal pains and underwent a Cesarean section. However, she suffered blood loss. This necessitated a transfusion. The purported Jehovah’s Witness doctor allegedly refused the transfusion. The reason reported was religious beliefs. Subsequently, Victoria died. Her brother-in-law or husband (reports differ), Chris Adams, accused the hospital of negligence. There was a power outage during surgery. The claim was this forced reliance on a generator. Adams claimed the family was misled into signing the consent form.
No official statements have been made since May 11, 2025.
Based on a select interpretation of biblical passages, some more stringent Jehovah’s Witnesses find themselves in genuine theological dilemmas in healthcare. These moral quandaries can lead to patients refusing treatment or doctors declining patients treatment at other times. The Victoria Paris case is unusual, but it did lead to a death, and many other cases exist.
Ethics for physicians include providing life-saving care overriding personal beliefs. Infrastructure deficiencies can exist in many places worldwide, including power outages. Informed consent is important. If the allegations are true, the family’s informed consent prior to signing was violated to some extent. All information is based on secondary source files or secondary news reports (Intel Region, Legit.ng, Gistlover).
With files from Intel Region, Legit.ng, Gistlover.
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