From: osan@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (Mr. X)
Subject: Re: interesting [and scary] blurb...
Organization: Twilight Zone
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 20:59:13 GMT

In article <1hu3jkINNj7k@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> bu008@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Brandon D. Ray) writes:
>
>In a previous article, lvc@cbnews.cb.att.com (Larry Cipriani) says:
>
>>Why the hell would I want to do that ?
>>
>Because you realize that we are all human, and vulnerable, and that at botoom
>we have more in common than we have keeping us apart?  Because you value 
>human life more than petty politics?

This is easy for you to say from where you sit, but try it sometime when
circumstances are less to your liking (see below).  There is nothing wrong with
your ideal so long as you remember that it is just that: an ideal, which may
very well fail to play out too well in many situations in the real world.

>>
>It isn't; it is just always something of a shock to find someone whose
>values and dreams are so odious as yours appear to be.

Your unwillingness to accept (not same as AGREE) his values is every bit,
indeed more, odious. 
 
>If he needs it, I will.  He is a human being, no matter what crimes he has
>committed.  
>> 

	Gee, how *wonderful* of you.  I see it's "let's contrive" time.
	Yes, the situation I'll now contrive will be extreme and a bit
	unlikely (though by no means out of the realm of possibility)
	While this is all very unlikely, it will still serve to
	illustrate.

	Let us say thst you are married and that you love your wife
	very much.  You also have a very lovely 16 year old daughter
	who happens to be the apple of your eye.  

	Now one day there is some trouble with  your daughter and some local
	psychopath.  He vows he's gonna fuck your girl up the ass while
	cutting her throat, and you KNOW he means to ddo just that and 	that 		he has the ability to do so.  Cops can't do anything, so you are on
	your own.  A few weeks go by and your wife and the psycho boy are
	involved in a car accident and our wife is killed.  The psycho needs,
	oh, say, a liver transplant to survive his injuries and your wife
	just happens to be a perfect donor.

	To make it even crazier, you show up to the ER and you accidentally
	run into the stall where old psycho boy is being treated.  He's
	conscious and sees you and decides to remind you of how he's gonna
	"do" yer little gorl when he gets out... hw he's gonna slide his
	big-one up her little tush and feel her convulse as he cuts through
	her anterior external jugular vein.

	Given this somewhat awful scenario (indulge me here if you will),
	can you honestly say that you would consent to giving your dear
	wife's liver to this person?  Try to submerse yourself into the
	reality of such a horrible event for a few minutes before even
	answering to yourself.  I would be interested to hear what you
	have to say about such a chain of events WRT my questioion.no

>>
>Which is why people should be allowed to say no.  But that doesn't mean that
>they should not be encouraged to say yes.

	I don't think thst anyoe here has objected to encouragement, as you
	say, but to the ASSUMPTION that if you have not indicated otherwise
	that you consent to the taking of your bodily organs i the event of
	your untimely demise.  I believe the potential ethical troubles that
	this poses is reason enough to not allow for implied consent.  The
	fact that such a law places the burden on folks that do not wish to 		donate is outrageous since it forces them to participate in something
	they clearly wish to b left out of.    I believe the Bill of Rights
	was clearly intended to pevent ths kind of unnecessary intrusion into
	the lives of people.  If folks want to donate, let them indicate that
	as their wish.  Other people should be left alone.

>>
>[You could not]have [your body] stuffed, mounted and
>sold at auction.  All of these things are prohibited.  

	Wrong-O.  My friends uncle had his body freeze dried when he died and
	curiously enough, it WAS sold at auction.  As long as what you do is
	not a health hazard, a body may be disposed of as you wish.

>It is different because your house and personal property have intrinsic
>value, and your corpse does not.  It costs your estate nothing...not one
>plugged nickel...to give your organs to another person or persons.

	Intrinsic value is a matter of perspective.  Keep yours to yourself
	and I will not burden you with mine.


	-Andy V.
Newsgroups: alt.society.civil-liberty