Shocking Ad Campaign To "Recycle Organs" in Ontario
- al: care2.com
- destinatario: International Society for Human Rights (ISHR), President & Secretary Gen.
In [2007 in the month of] December in the House of Commons [of Canada] Manitoba MP Steven Fletcher tabled a petition from doctors across Canada urging the federal government to issue travel advisories warning that organ transplants in China are sourced almost entirely from non-consenting people...". http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/5556/
That was then in China: This is now in Ontario, Canada. But times have changed and there are no travel warnings. Instead we have a web site called recycleme.org. Take a look at recycleme.org and wonder why.
I wonder why.
I wonder why a province in Canada is spending copious health care dollars to remind young people aged 15 to 23 of their morbidity? It's morbid in more ways than one. I wonder if some doctors have relegated medical ethics to second place so that they won't miss out on young "organ opportunities"?
And I really have to wonder if one of those ambitious organ-ized surgeons would perhaps not be too displeased if a young person was to be badly injured and appear in front of them, needing help. Would they think, "I want to do all I can to save this person's life!" or "I want to recycle this person's organs!" It's hard to think both thoughts at the same time, or to act in both ways at the same time.
(At this point I have to say that the Ontario Gift of Life Network has very predictable pat answer responses to questions of this nature. But I don't believe them. More on that in a moment.)
The animated male model with the longest suture line I have ever seen on any male torso doesn't look like the happiest guy in Ontario to me. Actually, neither do the other young people of Ontario who can be seen standing around in marketing T-shirts on this youtube video behind Mr. Fred Markel, the "President and the CEO" of the Ontario Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN).
Say what!!!!!??? Oh, the TGLN is a government body that promotes organ donation. And they are trying hard! They are not just trying hard to make people excited about giving organs, as though there aren't enough organ donation enthusiasts already; they want more and more organs from all ages, but the youth have the best organs. It is natural that they might think of that.
But wait, the Ontario government is denying the right to say "no" to organ donation if you live in Ontario and if you need health care for a "critical" situation where you might die. Not sure about this?
Read the FAQ from The Trillium Gift of Life Network, the network that maintains a database of donors ready to give, and some not so ready to give. Whatever.
Why are only "Yes" responses to donation being collected?
Our goal is to increase organ and tissue donation in Ontario. Our research shows jurisdictions that have instituted a "Yes" only registry have experienced an increase in donor registrations.
If I don't register "Yes", do you view me as a "No"? No. If you have not registered your consent to donate with OHIP, your family would be approached by Trillium Gift of Life Network (and health care professionals) to discuss the option of donating your organs and tissue. Your family can consent to donate on your behalf, if you are unable to do so. Therefore, it is important that you share your donation decision with your loved ones, so that they can fulfill your donation decision in the event of your death. If your decision is "Yes", you can now relieve them from the burden of that decision by registering your consent to donate organs and tissue with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
OK, now before I go any further, I have to ask, "How does anyone know that the family members will accurately represent the wishes of the donor, [oops, I mean patient] in this all too likely scenario? I mean it's not as though people always get along and always tell the truth. If that were true we would not need police or signatures to represent consent on legal documents for all matters where respect for individual rights are given importance. (This is not one of them.)
And, I also have to ask, since there is now a very extensive database of individuals in Ontario who qualify as donors; and since no one is allowed to say "NO", then how long will the small town transplant surgeon be willing to wait for a callback from the voicemail of the injured person's next-of-kin when those costly organs are there just waiting to be taken and donated to the cause? Really? And if death is "imminent", there is a tendency to take them before death to prevent autolysis. Maybe you didn't you know that either?
Now, please don't take offence. Even if you think that organ donation is exactly what the world needs now there are bigger things on the table here than the question of to donate organs or not to do so. Such as?
Let's see. Keyword phrases: Human rights. Bioethics. Medical ethics. Nursing ethics. The right to dignity. The right to respect. The democratic right to say NO and have that request heard and honoured. And then there's The right to always be sure you will receive the best medical treatment and the best care, regardless of the doctor or the hospital, until the last breath and the last heartbeat and the last brainwave. Until cold rigor mortis sets in and the last hopeful thought for life saving in the room is pushed away by the very present reality of death. At least I always thought so.
But there's more, unfortunately, that the Trillium Gift of Life Network has to say.
Who will receive my organs and tissue? Will they stay in Ontario or Canada? The hospital will contact Trillium Gift of Life Network, which keeps a list of everyone in Ontario who is waiting for an organ transplant. Trillium Gift of Life Network will match the tissue and blood type of the donor to an individual(s) on the waiting list. If a match is found the individual(s), who for medical reasons most needs a transplant, will receive the donated organs. If the medical urgency is the same, the individual on the waiting list the longest will receive the organ. If there is no suitable match, a cross-reference is made across Canada and possibly in the United States. This is done to save lives.
Interesting, that last statement. Do you think maybe this is also done for profit and to sustain the oh-so-viable organ trade? Maybe?
If you don't think so, you might agree with this statement:
The first and foremost concern for healthcare professionals caring for critically ill patients is to do everything possible to save lives. The possibility of donation is only considered when all lifesaving efforts have failed. The health care professional teams responsible for supporting donation are separate and independent from the health care professional teams responsible for transplantation.
What do I say now? I think it's, "I want to believe". But then I see this article and have more difficulty with the believing part...
Kids, it's cool to sign that donor card - The Globe and Mail: "....a growing number of health officials around the world are recognizing the importance of targeting youth, said Francis Delmonico, director of medical affairs at the Transplantation Society, a Montreal-based international organization. 'They become the advocates of organ donation throughout the country. If they believe it, then other generations will follow suit,' said Dr. Delmonico, who is also a professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School. "We're trying to take that message around the world.'"
Oh that's great. In NYC-USA there are more and more ambulances designed to grab organs at the site of a near death moment, sorry "brain dead" moment. In New York the business for organs has been described as "lucrative". Hey folks, that's code for "There's money to be made here".
In Ontario, Canada the recycleme.org message is put in place to get all of us ready to help out so that people waiting for a donation will get one; and so that this international business continues to thrive. Ontario and its people just became a cog in that wheel.
Do you believe this is all good? If not, please sign this petition to protest the decisions and policies and practices of the Ontario government.
And petition with your mouth too, even when you hear people say glibly, "Oh, I don't have a problem with that. I want to donate my organs to someone who needs them". Please.
This is done to save human rights.
Thank you for signing the petition to change the way Ontario does organ donation.
International Society for Human Rights
President: Alexander von Bischoffshause
Secretary General: Vu Quoc Dung
Borsigallee 9, D - 60388 Frankfurt/M., Germany
Tel.: 0049 - 69 42 01 08-0
Fax: 0049 - 69 42 01 08-33
eMail: is@ishr.org, web: www.ishr.org
Dear President, Secretary General and Other Members of the International Society for Human Rights:
We, the undersigned, are deeply concerned about the cessation of rights and a lack of public recognition of the need for people in Ontario to be able to register a "No" decision concerning organ and tissue donation. Without a place to register this choice formally and effectively, the power to give consent for any and all forms of organ and tissue donation in the province of Ontario is effectively withheld.
You may already be aware that there are significant legal changes regarding the procurement of organs for donation in this province in Ontario, Canada. These disturbing changes deny people the truth concerning what is happening to their rights, including the right of consent prior to organ donation, and only after every measure has been taken to ensure the sustenance of life; and to be absolutely certain that the person has actually died before vital organs are removed, at which point of course they would die!
What is happening in the province of Ontario to ensure an abundance of organs is tantamount to criminal activity, the kind of criminal activity that is required for there to be a profound breakdown in the observation of policies that reflect human rights and medical ethics. There is more concern with attracting or not attracting donors than there is that medical ethics and truth are preserved and upheld. The people of Ontario have been deceived and stripped of the vital power to withhold consent for organ donation, should they choose not to give their organs over. Those who deem it "necessary" that organs remain in high supply have sacrificed the truth and the freedom people need to make their own decisions for a perception of greater good to ensure that there is no appreciable choice, but to make one's organs available if/when they are required.
Statements provided by the Ontario Ministry of Health, indicate that the power to say "no" remains, although they acknowledge that there is no official place for it to be written down. As such, the Ontario Ministry of Health states that a "No" decision must be delivered by an individual's family members if/when they are contacted just prior to the time of death of the individual.
Furthermore, the recycleme.org propaganda campaign is a government project initiated by the province of Ontario that teaches youth to support this radical shift away from treating themselves, as potential subjects of organ donation, with dignity and respect.
Human rights were once supported through an expression of individual consent, given or withheld in clearly written and freely given legal statements, on organ donor cards or other documents provided by the state. Yet now a database counts all Ontarians in to give organs unless their family is available and willing to speak up to say "No", if that was their understanding of the intentions of the person who is near death. The recycleme.org campaign is crass, dehumanizing and disrespectful towards the youth of Ontario and all people of Ontario. The use of symbols such as the image of a red recycling box piled up with human organs sends a message that organs are commodities that must be recycled to feed the needs of people who have been determined to need new organs.
If this is the first formal statement of objection to these changes in human rights and bioethics policies in Ontario, we, the undersigned, wish to state our hope that the ISHR will help the people of Ontario and make sure that there will be more statements of concern on this subject. Please ensure that this one will not be the last.
In other places and at other times in history people sometimes appeared to accept startling changes, while in reality they were confused or distracted or somehow convinced that a reduction in human freedom was truly necessary. Yet we urge you to remember the risks and the terrible prices that people pay when they give up their human rights. The people of Ontario are not yet fully aware of the cost of silence, but we, the undersigned, trust that the members of the International Society for Human Rights know all too well how silence helps to repress human rights.
Furthermore, I plead that each person who is hearing this petition read aloud or who reads it quietly realizes that unless we want to see an increase in totalitarian policies in other countries of the world, we had better take a good look at what is happening in Ontario and be prepared to do everything possible to put an end to the silence that encourages human rights in this area to be forfeited.
Hitler's Germany and other historical states controlled by despots are now the subject of history lessons. "The end does not justify the means"; and "Beware, lest history reappears in a different suit" are wise lessons, no less valuable now than they were when we learned them. Yet it remains to be asked, "Do we still believe in these principles, and are we prepared to defend them?" Members of the International Society for Human Rights, I urge you to think hard about how you will answer this question.
To oppose dictatorship in any country is not an easy thing to do; but how much worse is it when no one objects and voices of reason and compassion, so well articulated by ethicists such as Hans Jonas, fall silent. We can not afford to be apathetic when the loss of human rights is a real and present danger.
One voice of reason on the need for clarity regarding the subject of ethics, human rights and organ donation comes from info3.de and I beg you to pay attention to the last words put forth in this article called "THE ORGAN DONOR CARD - A LICENSE TO KILL?":
It has become quite common today to speak of the post-humane age with reference to the divisibility, extendibility, exchangeability and consequently marketing of the human body. Materialistic thinking and materialistic medicine have brought this about. We may be passionate in rejecting the superficiality of materialism, but we need to discover the individual as a new criterion and to help this indivisible entity in his need. That is how I see my role as a physician. As long as we take our orientation, to the best of our knowledge and belief, from the individual patient, we may hope to act in accord with this person's destiny and individual intent. This is what a truly humane medicine should seek to achieve, in the face of all post-humane ideologies and temptations. To care for the individual also when facing death is something indivisible. Turning away from the individual, on the other hand, is to fall into sin in modern medicine. It begins, if not before, when we see the dying individual as a "donor". [Original title: Organ Transplantation - Do We Know What We Are Doing? Journal of Anthroposophical Medicine, Volume 13, Nr. 3, Fall 1996]
Please come together with others who share our concern for the failure of human rights in the area of organ donation in Ontario, Canada, so that the individual's right to decide will be upheld again.
Thank you very much for your kind attention to this most important matter.
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