The Bible teaches that the ungodly invent ways of doing evil (Romans 1:30). The quest to meet the increasing demand for organs is a prime example.
A new and highly reprehensible protocol for obtaining organs is pushing the boundaries of the “dead donor” rule, which requires a donor to actually be dead before retrieval can begin. It also requires that no donor can be killed in order to retrieve their organs.
The new procedure, known as “normothermic regional perfusion with controlled donation after circulatory death (NRP-cDCD),” allows for organ harvesting in terminal patients who are on life support and not expected to survive.
So-called Doctors Stop Blood Flow to the Brain
Under this macabre protocol, life support is removed, and after the heart stops beating, doctors wait 2-3 minutes to see if it starts functioning on its own. If it does not, life support is restored, but blood flow to the brain is clamped off.
This deliberate act makes the person effectively brain dead, or more accurately, murdered. With the bypass machine now supplying blood flow to the rest of the body, other organs are preserved so they can be inspected and removed.
According to the Uniform Definition of Death Act (UDDA), the recommended legal framework for determining death in order for a person to be considered dead, is as follows: they must experience either “irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions” or “irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem.”
Killing to Harvest Organs Must Stop
Wesley J. Smith, Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism, commented, “If a patient is resuscitated after cardiac arrest—even if the heart could not restart on its own—the person is not dead. Cutting off blood flow to the brain to cause death thereafter seems to me awfully close to active killing.”
Dr. Smith added, “This should stop, not for the sheer morality of the issue, but also to maintain people’s confidence in transplant medicine overall. Because the next step may be to unequivocally kill for organs—already proposed by some prominent bioethicists. And that would turn catastrophically ill persons into so many organ farms.”
In addition, the160,000 member American College of Physicians states the protocol “raises significant ethical concerns and questions regarding the dead donor rule, fundamental ethical obligations of respect, beneficence, justice, and the imperative to never use one individual merely as a means to serve the ends of another, no matter how noble, or good those ends may be.”
Dr. Heidi Klessig, a board-certified anesthesiologist who witnessed organ harvesting exploitation said, “transplant physicians…are playing fast and loose with both the spirit and letter of the law as spelled out in the Uniform Determination of Death Act.”
She added, “How many families would give their loved ones over to transplant teams if they knew the grisly reality taking place behind the operating room doors? Physicians and organ procurement organizations must come clean on the many controversies surrounding both ‘brain dead’ and ‘circulatory death’ organ harvesting. It is critical that patients receive a full explanation of the many ethical questions involved in organ harvesting before giving their informed consent.”
Family’s Wishes Denied
Another fact to keep in mind is that most hospitals consider being a registered donor as legally binding, and organ retrieval must be allowed regardless of a family’s wishes.
Considering these gruesome facts, pro-life supporters are strongly encouraged to carefully consider whether they want to be a donor. Anyone wishing to cancel their registration can do so at www.donatelifegeorgia.org. A new driver’s license may also be required.
Sources: medpagetoday.com; thefederalist.com; americanthinker.com; lifesitenews.com
By Wayne DuBois
Georgia Right to Life
Media Relations Advisor