From: bu008@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Brandon D. Ray)
Newsgroups: alt.society.civil-liberty,talk.politics.guns
Subject: Re: interesting [and scary] blurb...
Date: 31 Dec 1992 06:07:43 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
Reply-To: bu008@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Brandon D. Ray)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


In a previous article, noonan@mksol.dseg.ti.com (Michael P Noonan) says:

>In article <1992Dec30.174740.18045@cbfsb.cb.att.com>, osan@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (Mr. X) writes:
>|> In article <1992Dec29.155304.16757@ncsu.edu> hes@unity.ncsu.edu (Henry E. Schaffer) writes:
>|> >  The state of North Carolina has taken a very sensible approach 
>|> >to this - Donor status is put on the Driver's License.  When you 
>|> >get a license they ask you what donor status you want, and then the 
>|> >license serves as a legal document.  (I have had a Uniform Donor
>|> >Card in my wallet for almost 10 years, and I just checked and found
>|> >that since my intent is on my driver's license that I no longer need
>|> >carry the card.)
>|> 
>|> 	This is fine Henry, as far as it goes, but what about the question
>|> 	of the default case when the person in question has no "findable"
>|> 	license?  If the default is this "implied consent" crap, then we are
>|> 	no better off.  Imagine a nice new fresh piece of meat, just about to
>|> 	expire, the organs of which are sorely needed...  "Uh, gee... we LOOKED
>|> 	for the  driver's license, but could not find it until several hours
>|> 	after the kidneys (or what have you) had been harvested.  Sorry"
>|> 
>|> 	I can virtually guarantee you that shit like this will happen with
>|> 	increasing frequency until it becomes standard practice (de rigeur,
>|> 	if you will).  And the "but it saves so many lives"  BS will be
>|> 	very liberally and vigorously offered at each and every protestation.
>
>How can anyone sit here and say, "I don't want so-and-so to have my
>organs because I don't agree with his political views."  I am personally
>disgusted that someone could have the potential to be so selfish to not
>share something of which they have no need.  Everyone should be a donor.
>It shouldn't even be a question.  Why should your dead body have rights
>over it's organs?  Should your dead body still be considered a person
>according to the law?  What utter bullshit!
>
>|> 	And I also wonder how many ER doctors may get into the habit of
>|> 	becomming somewhat, shall we say "laid back" about fighting to save
>|> 	someone's life when they know that Senator Joe Scumbag has very
>|> 	discretely offered 1.5 million dollars for a pair of new kidneys for
>|> 	their very sick daughter.  Can you say "pressure from your superiors"?
>
>Complete bullshit.  That doctor should go to jail and never get out.
>Is this happening with organ donors now?  That is a completely
>unsubstantiated assertion.
>
No, it is not happening with organs now.  It is a federal crime to buy or 
sell human organs, and it is a federal crime to assign a human organ by
any means other than the nationwide database, which uses only *medical*
criteria* in its algorithm, and it is a federal crime to reveal the
identity of the donor to the recipient and vice versa...any doctor who
did something like this would be facing hard time in a federal prison.
> 
>|> 	I suppose this sounds a bit cynical, but nonetheless I am certain this
>|> 	would become quite a frequent occurrance.  When it comes to lives, 
>|> 	people will do almost anything and those of means will not hesitate
>|> 	to push evey button they can in order to get that which they want so
>|> 	badly. 
>
>Are you saying that a doctor will make no effort to save me if he knows
>that the paramedics found my driver's license and it said I was a donor?
>Does this happen all the time now?  Do organ donors statistically have
>less of a chance to survive in an ER than non-donors?  Perhaps I will
>listen to your ranting when you demonstrate that this is the case.
>Hell, if this is true, I'll be screaming right along with you.
>
It's utterly false.
>
>|> 	-Andy V.
>
>Mike Noonan
>

-- 
******************************************************************************
The opinions expressed by the author are insightful, intelligent and very
carefully thought out.  It is therefore unlikely that they are shared by the
University of Iowa or Case Western Reserve University.
Newsgroups: alt.society.civil-liberty,talk.politics.guns