Ernest and Julio Gallo used to make commercials to promote their wine. Each commercial ended with the tagline, “We will serve no wine before its time!” I think of that commercial every time I hear about or am asked about organ donation.
The number one reason people do not sign an organ donation card is the fear that organs will be taken before someone is actually dead. Such was nearly the case with Colleen Burns in 2009. Read the story in Medical Daily.
Now, jump ahead 4 years and cross the Atlantic Ocean. Wales has passed a new law which has “presumed” consent for organ donation. Read about it on the BBC news.
Commentator Wesley Smith offers an excellent commentary on this both as a policy issue in the state of Oregon and now as it goes into effect in Wales.
Once you open the door for redefining life by qualitative rather than absolute standards it becomes the tool of others to be used and abused as desired. For many organ donations have been a great blessing. Crossing lines of consent in a culture that is already attempting to redefine death on quality standards endangers us all.
