With my birthday coming up (don’t worry, you don’t have to buy me a present), I need to get my driver’s license renewed. Several years ago I marked on my license that I would like to be an organ donor, not realizing that would not be dead yet when they came to take my liver out.
How Do You Say No To Organ Harvesting In Illinois?
Now that I know the difference between actual death and so-called “brain death” (when your brainwaves stop, but your heart is still beating) there’s no way I’d let them have my organs! So I’ve been planning to mark “no” on my license instead.
But a post by Bill Beckman on the Illinois Right To Life blog suggests it may be harder than a simple “check yes or no.” In Illinois—I don’t know whether this is true for other states—organ donors need to register their intent on the Illinois Organ/Tissue donor registry. This decision (to give your organs) is binding and cannot be overruled by your family members or caregivers.
Since this is an organ AND tissue donor registry, I tried to register only for having my tissues taken-which occurs after you’re 100% dead, but you can’t do that.
The thing is, if you don’t want to be harvested, they don’t record your “no.” Here’s the real problem: because they don’t record your “no,” the law in Illinois says you simply haven’t given consent yet. By law, they have the right to try to persuade your next of kin to give over your organs-and in the meantime they have “legal authority to perform pre-harvesting invasive procedures that are done to a living person without informed consent for purposes of assessing and preserving organs for transplant.”
Beckman suggests writing clearly on a label on your driver’s license or a card placed nearby that you do NOT want to “donate” your organs. Also put this in your Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care document (the pro-life alternative to a living will).
Whatever happened to “no means no”?
Kaylee Wallace Survives Euthanasia Attempts
There is good news for Kaylee Wallace, whose parents wanted to give her heart away before she died. The father has stated that they were misinformed about the severity of the disease, and that’s why they were so ready to make her die. Two month old Kaylee has shown herself to be a fighter, and when they removed the respirators she just continued to breathe on her own. Praise God!
Miss California Loses For Upholding Traditional Marriage
Surprising news from the Miss USA Pageant: Miss California was the frontrunner during the competition-until she was asked this question: “Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same-sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?” This was asked by openly gay “celebrity gossip” Perez Hilton. His statement about Vermont legalizing gay marriage was cheered by a couple of people.
This is how Miss California, Carrie Prejean, responded:
I think it’s great Americans are able to choose one or the other. We live in a land that you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what, in my country, in my family I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody there, but that’s how I was raised and that’s how I think it should be – between a man and a woman.
Her last sentence could barely be heard over the cheers from the crowd.
And yet, she lost because this answer was not politically correct. And Perez Hilton called her some nasty names because of it. He said the answer anyone with half a brain would have given was that each state should be allowed to decide for itself.
No, the answer she should have given was the one she felt was right-what’s the point in asking a “why or why not” question if you’re not ready to hear why not?
I, like all of you, continue to pray for the day when “diversity” and “tolerance” will cease to be words used to silence Christians and mock our values. I look forward to a day when being “pro-life” will not make you a dangerous “extremist,” but will make you just like any other person-because we will all recognize the value of all human life.
