NDP MPP Peter Kormos

Negative option organ donations

Last week, Ontario NDP MPP Peter Kormos introduced a private members bill to further regulate organ donations and the use of tissue after death. Under the proposed law, the organs and/or tissue of any person in Ontario who dies over the age of 16 years can be taken by the government unless that person had, previously to his or her death, clearly objected to the use of such organs or tissue.

This is the equivalent of the negative billing option that was employed by television cable companies a few years ago. Under that relatively short lived plan, cable subscribers received and were billed for additional stations that they had not ordered at a higher cost and the onus was on them to contact the cable provider to cancel these new services. Now peoples body parts can be taken by the government unless they had taken certain prescribed actions during their lives to prevent this from being done.

While private members bills do not usually go anywhere, what is troubling about this bill is that it has cross party support in the legislature and depending how the numbers are when the bill comes up for third and final reading, it could pass.

Unfortunately, the Liberals who have been in power for the last two years have shown that they have no hesitation about micro-managing the lives of the residents of Ontario. It is not a stretch that they would relish the opportunity to have complete control over peoples bodies after they die. And we cant count on a bunch of feminists taking to the streets screaming about the right to control their own bodies. Aint gonna happen. The term pro choice as we all know is confined to what it has always been confined to abortion. For everything else, its the governments choice that is important.

The motive for this legislation, like the motivation for so much of our restrictive laws, has a noble purpose. People are dying due to a lack of available organs for transplant. And in our socialist society where paying a physician for medical services as looked upon as being "evil", we cant expect to be allowed the freedom to buy and sell organs in the marketplace. If the bill becomes law more organs will become available from people who, although they dont want their body parts to be used, just never got around to going through the necessary procedure to object. Its the same procedure that the cable companies employed so effectively, collecting money from people for channels that they never watched but couldnt be bothered calling and cancelling. The rights of Ontarians over their own bodies shouldnt be eroded simply because there is another supposedly higher purpose.

In order for an Ontario resident to object to the use of tissue and organs after death, one of three things must happen. They can fill out a form and deliver it to a physician. Or they can send their objection to the Trillium Gift of Life Network, wherever the hell that is. A third option is that the objection can be made verbally if it is made in front of two witnesses during the persons "last" illness. Besides deciding what is the last illness for a person who is the hospital for a stroke and but has a fatal heart attack is, it is unrealistic to expect that many people, in the throes of their final illness would make objecting to the donation a priority.

Like other legislation that is dreamed up by the left; the ones who purport to care the most about the poor, this bill would have a more negative impact upon the poor and the uneducated. People in this group tend to see doctors on a less regular basis and find completing any form as an arduous task. But its no different than the impact on the poor of higher cigarette taxes. While the Liberals smile smugly about deterring smoking by raising the price of a package of cigarettes, they have absolutely no concern over the fact that the extra cost to a low income Ontarian is coming out of their childrens food money. They dont care the greater good and all that stuff.

PC MPP Frank Klees has suggested a much better method of increasing organ and tissue donations. Under Klees proposal, no person could obtain a renewal of their drivers license or their Ontario health card unless they made a decision, one way or the other, as to what will happen upon their death. This would be real choice. And since most adults (even those who are in Canada illegally) have at least one of those documents, organ and tissue donations will increase. And it shows more respect for the citizens who although are forced to make a decision are allowed to determine what that decision will be.

Luckily there is what appears to be an easy out in the bill. Section 4(1)(a) of the bill provides that the organs and tissue cannot be taken from a person if that person, "is a believer, a follower or a member of a prescribed religion, cult, association or group". Now its hard to get a new religion off the ground these days and theres just too much government red tape to go through to form a group or an association. But how difficult can it be to start a cult? Im going to start one; the cult will be against the wearing of ties and suit jackets on any occasion and will spend most of its time worshipping the great Peter Kormos. Im going to call my new cult the Kormosians. Thatll teach Peter Kormos to try and grab my organs!

Much like the proposed donors, this bill should be dead.

Arthur Weinreb is an author, columnist and Associate Editor of Toronto Free Press. His work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Men's News Daily, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck and The Rant. Arthur can be reached at: Columns 2006 '05 '04 '03 '02 '01 '00 1999 Media 2006 '05 '04 '03 '02 Toronto 2006 '05 '04