A Cause For Concern Over Medical Ethics

There should be a growing concern in the area of medical ethics. Specifically, when does death occur such as to make organ removal for transplant purposes permissible. Recently, the Washington Post reported: "Pick up a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, and you'll see the far edge of this tortured world. In the journal, doctors at Children's Hospital in Denver describe how they removed hearts from infants 75 seconds after they stopped. The infants were declared dead of heart failure, even as their hearts, in new bodies, resumed ticking." There is a move to redefine "death" so as to make organ transplants more successful. Where is this leading us as a society?

I think it is taking us down a path that is very dangerous. To me this seems very quick to remove a heart. I am aware of hearts ceasing to beat and then restarting outside of a 75 second span. While I do not debate the Biblical propriety of organ transplants, I do urge a point of concern when humans become more valuable for their parts than they do for their whole. It is a small step from this point to a balancing of the value of one life for another with the perceived most valuable receiving body parts from one who is "less valuable." All life is precious to God. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 8:36 which says in part: "all they that hate me love death." Have you ever noticed that it is the anti-God forces that promote abortion and the right to die. Now don't confuse the issue, Biblical conservatives do argue for the death penalty in certain cases. However, this is different; the one being executed has committed an act that requires he or she forfeit their own life. The baby is innocent; the one in a coma is innocent. That is the distinguishing mark of the Biblical worldview; the Christian protects the innocent life while those that hate God love death.

When does death occur? It occurs when the spirit and soul depart from the physical body. When this is verified (through the cessation of brain activity and all that remains is the physical body), organ transplant would seem Biblically permissible based on the command to love our neighbor. Until death can be verified however,the best course of action would be to attempt to heal the sick before their parts are removed.