No

by Catherine Ebey

Created on: July 15, 2011

According to medical law, a patient has a right to consent to the treatment they are receiving. It is highly unethical to force someone to undergo medical treatment without consent. Regardless of family ties, if a person does not want to donate an organ, they cannot be made to do so. Perhaps then, it is more the question of choice than the life in question.

This is not to say that donating an organ is not a noble, altruistic act of immense self sacrifice. It is. However, it is the act of giving itself that instills the very altruistic soul of donating. One cannot donate what one is forced to give. Consider a scenario in which a son gives his mother his kidney. If he were forced by law to give his kidney, would the action still be noble? Would it still be an act of love?

Consider again the same circumstance, but with new evidence: the mother is an alcoholic. The son knows this fact, but he does not wish to reveal this fact as it would soil his mother's good name. However, he knows she is not a good candidate for the kidney. If he were still forced to give the kidney against his will, he would no longer be donating an organ. He would be giving up an organ which was forcibly removed without his consent.

Morality cannot be written into law because the law cannot take into account human nature. People make decisions based on reasons that the government cannot quantify into a national law. A person's body is their own; their temple, if you will. Surgery involves serious risks, and should never be entered into lightly, even if a family member is in need. A patient still needs to be told the risks and be allowed to make his or her own decision concerning his or her health care.

Consider also a person's definition of health. A person may not necessarily believe in western medicine, and thus donating an organ may be against his or her personal principles. Considering the rejection rate of organ transplant and the astronomical cost of transplant health care and maintenance, the family member may consider it against the patient's best interests to receive a transplant.

Regardless of the family member and patient's feelings on the subject, it is still their decision to make together as a family, without governmental or medical interference. Morality cannot be quantified into a governmental law. It simply does not take into account familial situations and circumstances, nor patient rights.

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