| Normative consent and opt-out organ donation. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 20133401 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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One way of increasing the supply of organs available for transplant would be to switch to an opt-out system of donor registration. This is typically assumed to operate on the basis of presumed consent, but this faces the objection that not all of those who fail to opt out would actually consent to the use of their cadaveric organs. This paper defuses this objection, arguing that people's actual, explicit or implicit, consent to use their organs is not needed. It borrows David Estlund's notion of 'normative consent' from the justification of political authority and applies it to the case of organ donation. According to this idea, when it is wrong to withhold consent to something, the moral force of that lack of consent may be null and void. If it is wrong of a person to refuse to donate their cadaveric organs to others, then it may be that their actual consent is not needed. This supports an opt-out system, which provides protection for those who have genuine reasons to refuse donation, and spares the worries as to what the deceased would actually have wanted. |
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Authors:
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Ben Saunders |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Journal of medical ethics Volume: 36 ISSN: 1473-4257 ISO Abbreviation: J Med Ethics Publication Date: 2010 Feb |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-02-05 Completed Date: 2010-05-20 Revised Date: 2010-08-05 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 7513619 Medline TA: J Med Ethics Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 84-7 Citation Subset: E; IM |
Affiliation:
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Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford, Merton Street, Oxford, UK. ben.saunders@philosophy.ox.ac.uk |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Health Policy Humans Presumed Consent / ethics*, legislation & jurisprudence Refusal to Participate / ethics*, legislation & jurisprudence Tissue Banks / ethics Tissue Donors / ethics Tissue and Organ Procurement / ethics*, legislation & jurisprudence Waiting Lists |
| Comments/Corrections | |
Comment In:
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J Med Ethics. 2010 Aug;36(8):498-9
[PMID:
20663768
]
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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