lunes, 16 de enero de 2017

MercatorNet: Canadian bioethicists call for organ donor euthanasia

MercatorNet: Canadian bioethicists call for organ donor euthanasia



Canadian bioethicists call for organ donor euthanasia



Canadian bioethicists call for organ donor euthanasia

Of all ideas about assisted dying, this must be the worst
Michael Cook | Jan 16 2017 | comment 

Well, well, that didn’t take long, did it? Euthanasia became legal in Canada in June and by December Quebec bioethicists had already published an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics calling for organ donation after euthanasia. In fact, they were reflecting the positive opinions of the both the Quebec government and of Transplant Quebec, the professional association of transplant surgeons
The authors, Julie Allard and Marie-Chantal Fortin, bioethicists at the University of Montreal, argue that their proposal is a kind of homage to autonomy:
“MAID (medical aid in dying) has the potential to provide additional organs available for transplantation. Accepting to procure organ donation after MAID is a way to respect the autonomy of patients, for whom organ donation is an important value. Organ donation after MAID would be ethically acceptable if the patient who has offered to donate is competent and not under any external pressure to choose MAID or organ donation”.
However, they insist that the decision to donate should be separate from the decision to be euthanized. They point out that such a policy could have a negative impact upon the public’s perception of organ donation, so they urge that further studies be done.  
Not very publicized, but pre-dating the publication of the JME article, are position statements from Transplant Quebec (no link available) and an ethics committee of the Quebec government. The latter stated on May 11 that:
Considering that a request for medical help in dying is a right, that organ donation is socially acceptable and it is an express request of the patient, and considering that the Commission [Commission de l'éthique en science et en technologie]  has always praised organ donation in preceding position statements, the Commission recommends that all the institutions responsible set in place the necessary conditions for making these two requirements compatible.
Allard and Fortin contend that organ donation euthanasia will always be a rare option, because most patients who request euthanasia are dying of cancer, which would normally make them unsuitable as an organ donor.
As a policy, it has only been rolled out in Belgium and the Netherlands. Between 2005 and 2015, 21 Belgians donated organs following euthanasia. The Dutch lag behind, but so far 15 patients have asked to donate organs following euthanasia.
What is the ethical reasoning behind such a procedure? It is based upon respect for the patients’ autonomy.
Several countries, including Canada and the USA, believe that a person who is able to give free and informed consent (or refuse such consent) is entitled to decide what will happen to his or her body.
Allard and Fortin acknowledge that there might be some ethical complications. Patients might feel that they are a burden and could only be useful if they were to give their organs. This would constitute a subtle form of coercion. However, Allard and Fortin are confident that this can be overcome.
It will be difficult to disentangle patients' motivations for requesting MAID, but the complete separation of the two decisional processes should help to ensure that the MAID request is motivated by unbearable suffering, as required by law, and not by the feeling that one's value is limited to one's organs.
Of all the bad ideas associated with euthanasia, this must be one of the worst. The potential for exploiting vulnerable people is immense. Imagine that you have recently become a quadriplegic after a motorcycle accident. You are lonely, frustrated, discouraged; you think that life has no meaning, that you are a useless encumbrance on your family and society. You don’t believe the doctors who insist that paraplegics can and do live fulfilling and happy lives.
One day, from your hospital bed you see a TV program in which a transplant surgeon praises the unforgettable generosity of So-and-so whose life was not worth living but found a way to give life to others, etc, etc. Wouldn't you think of ringing up the doctor and asking him how to go about it? 
It could get even worse. What if organ donation organisations promoted an standard advance directive which instructs your next-of-kin to arrange for organ donation euthanasia if you become seriously demented? There is no reason why this could not happen. In Belgium, demented people can be euthanized and organs are being accepted, even from elderly people. That would clean out the nursing homes and shorten the kidney waiting list.
How is Canada going to stop this from happening?
Michael Cook is editor of MercatorNet. An earlier version of this article was published in BioEdge, which he also edits. 


MercatorNet

Today's theme is euthanasia. In Australia, it is a hot topic with one state, Victoria, seriously considering legalisation later in the year. Writing from Sydney, Debra Vermeer warns Australians that euthanasia is a runaway train. Everywhere that it has been legalised, it expands far beyond what its supporters originally predicted.
In Canada, for instance, bioethicists are already mooting the possibility of combining euthanasia with organ donation. What an horrific prospect for the disabled. 




Michael Cook 
Editor 
MERCATORNET



Experts warn Australians against following overseas experience with euthanasia
By Debra Vermeer
When doctors are authorised to kill their patients, fundamental social values undergo a tectonic shift
Read the full article
 
The fake news that sealed the fate of Antony and Cleopatra
By Eve MacDonald
The scandal of the century sank Antony's hopes of becoming ruler of the Roman world -- but it probably wasn't true.
Read the full article
 
Canadian bioethicists call for organ donor euthanasia
By Michael Cook
Of all ideas about assisted dying, this must be the worst
Read the full article
 
These eight US states have shrunk in 2016
By Shannon Roberts
U.S. population growth is at an 80 year low.
Read the full article
 
Fans clamor for new series
By Jane Fagan
This book is amazing on a number of levels.
Read the full article
 
Doctor Zhivago at 60: a spiritual masterpiece
By Francis Phillips
The personal and the political combine in Pasternak's compelling novel of revolutionary and Soviet Russia.
Read the full article
 
‘Israel is not the problem’ - a Christian voice on the UN’s anti-settlement stance
By Shadi Khalloul
The UN Security Council move is 'bad for Christians, Muslims and Jews'.
Read the full article
 
The treachery of divorce
By Luma Simms
It looks to be a way out of our misery, but bitterness never fails to follow.
Read the full article
 
The myth of romantic love may be ruining your health
By Susanne Vosmer
Searching for it on the internet only increases love-sickness.
Read the full article
 
A nine-year-old boy is spreading a ‘contagion of mass delusion’
By Walt Heyer
What 'feels right' isn't always right.
Read the full article


MERCATORNET | New Media Foundation 
Suite 12A, Level 2, 5 George Street, North Strathfied NSW 2137, Australia 

Designed by elleston

New Media Foundation | Suite 12A, Level 2, 5 George St | North Strathfield NSW 2137 | AUSTRALIA | +61 2 8005 8605 

No hay comentarios: