Why our plan achieves efficiency #2

The proposition has shown remarkable clarity in spreading out their arguments. The opposition appreciates this, but unfortunately cannot accept any of the arguments. (1) “If a liver is given to an alcoholic, another person in the queue dies and maybe also ex-alcoholic dies. If liver is given to someone else, that person lives and alcoholic dies.” A direct quote was taken from the proposition side here. This is the cornerstone of all the proposition side’s arguments in this round. We the opposition seriously question the validity of this dangerous assumption. The fundamentals of the proposition assume two things, two wrong things. 1) All non-alcoholics never die after a liver transplant. 2) Every person’s urgency and need for a transplant are exactly the same. Both are untrue. There can be absolutely no foresight whatsoever what a non-alcoholic, or an ex-alcoholic, for that matter, may do after a liver transplant. Non-alcoholics can smoke, non-alcoholics can turn into ex-alcoholics (if not, why would there be any ex-alcoholics in the first place?), non-alcoholics can start marijuana. The chances of an ex-alcoholic harming himself and a non-alcoholic harming himself are practically the same, as the opposition sees it. The survival rate for non-alcoholics after a transplant is 90%. The survival rate for ex-alcoholics after a transplant is 85%. We see practically no difference in these statistics; not a lot of people receive liver transplants in the first place, which renders a 5% rate to practically nothing. Thus the first assumption of the proposition is false. Moreover, every person’s urgency and need are different. In many cases, the ex-alcoholic is in a much more desperate situation than the non-alcoholic; and vice versa. The opposition disagrees with the proposition when it argues that an ex-alcoholic, minutes away from death, should be ignored for a non-alcoholic with ten years left on the clock. Borrowing the proposition’s words, we aim to maximize the protection of citizens. We are sure that maximizing such protection comes with need-based transplants, not merit-based transplants. (2) The point of banning alcoholics from the pool of liver transplant receivers increasing the level of organ donation is ludicrous. First of all, not one piece of evidence was given to support this outrageous claim. Throwing out such a controversial viewpoint without proper substantiation is not the best of argumentation. Second, the line of logic is flawed. We the opposition support the contrary opinion. Many potential donors do not agree to give away their liver because of personal qualms or because they are uninterested, not because of whom is it going to go to. The proposition is making a grave mistake if they think that alcoholics are separated with the rest of society. Alcoholics are fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, uncles, grandparents. Excluding people just like us from a chance to save their lives will be viewed as not appropriate, but rather cruel and dastardly. If people would love not giving their organs to alcoholics, why in the world does society use taxpayer money for criminal reform? People believe in values, people believe that all humans deserve equal rights, people believe that everyone needs a second chance; people believe that denying the right to live based on a past lifestyle is downright disgusting. The proposition portrays people as cold and calculating. The thing is, you don’t donate your organ with a cold and calculating mind. You donate it out of the goodness of your heart. The notion of entirely denying some people with a certain lifestyle from the warmth of your love is simply not understandable. http://www.cpmc.org/advanced/liver/patients/topics/transplant.html#Evaluation%20Process http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119977720/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0