Here’s the question:
“Should the organ transplant community publicly refuse organs from suicides?“
Here is the UFI reader response:
62 percent “No”
38 percent “Yes”
0 percent “Unsure”
We found this question was difficult to get our brain around. There are so many people in need of organ transplants, yet every effort must be made to not incentivize those who struggle with mental illness and might use “well, at least I can donate my organs and do some good” as another reason to justify ending their lives.
It appears that the majority of UFI readers took the “greater good” route and felt like it was more important to provide help to those desperate for organ transplants. It is, however, worth reading Wesley J. Smith’s article were he states:
“Suicidal people need help in living, not reasons to die. To prevent people from using the pretext of organ harvesting as a justification for their suicides, we need to make it very clear that their organs will not be so used if they decide to do the deed. Not only might such a clarion statement by the organ community save lives, but we don’t want a society that has a utilitarian stake in the self destruction of suicidal people.”
We at United Families are leaning towards agreeing with Mr. Smith, but we recognize the other side of as well. It’s a thought provoking question. You can read Wesley J. Smith’s article here.