Even for Canada’s media, which was universally and enthusiastically in favor of the legalization of assisted suicide in the leadup to legalization, the Ottawa Citizen’s recent spin on a tragic and awful trend is jaw-dropping. Increasingly, those opting for assisted suicide are also volunteering to have their organs recycled (18 organ and 95 tissue donors in 2919), and the Citizen’sheadline noted this fact approvingly: “Medically assisted deaths prove a growing boon to organ donation in Ontario.”
The Citizen lauded this “relatively new source of organs and tissues,” which they noted is significant in that “Ontario’s waiting list for organs typically hovers around 1,600.” That “source of organs and tissues,” it should be noted, is patients who have been killed by medical professionals at their request, after which their corpses can be pillaged for spare parts. This, apparently, is a “boon.” From the Citizen:
According to Trillium Gift of Life Network, which oversees organ and tissue donation in Ontario, the 113 MAiD-related donations in 2019 accounted for five per cent of overall donations in Ontario, a share that has also been increasing. In 2018, MAiD-related donations made up 3.6 per cent of the province’s total donations, and in 2017 just 2.1 per cent.
2 thoughts on “Canadian media lauds assisted suicide as a “growing boon to organ donation””
Sam says:
Hmm … strange that a factually correct statement is “spin”. You may disagree with MAID, but you can’t argue that MAID recipients aren’t donating organs and tissues at a higher rate than the background population.
If you don’t want headlines like this one, maybe advocate for a change from the “opt in” donation system to an “opt out” donation system? I suspect the reason MAID has higher donation rates is these individuals are actively thinking about dying and how to arrange their affairs.
Hmm … strange that a factually correct statement is “spin”. You may disagree with MAID, but you can’t argue that MAID recipients aren’t donating organs and tissues at a higher rate than the background population.
If you don’t want headlines like this one, maybe advocate for a change from the “opt in” donation system to an “opt out” donation system? I suspect the reason MAID has higher donation rates is these individuals are actively thinking about dying and how to arrange their affairs.
You seem to have missed Jonathon’s point. Entirely.