Death - should the departed's family have an intrinsic right to the body?

[Umbran]

That's probably a good idea, though I'm not entirely sure how workable it is.

In the US, every male must register for Selective Service (the draft) within 30 days of reaching their 18th birthday, and must maintain information with selective service until age 25. Several other things (like access to student loans) is linked to being registered. The Government Accounting Office estimated they had something like 92% compliance in 2010.

So, it seems entirely workable, to me.

 

[delericho]

In the US, every male must register for Selective Service (the draft) within 30 days of reaching their 18th birthday...

So, it seems entirely workable, to me.

Yep, that would do it. Well, for half the population anyway.

We don't have any direct equivalent over here.

 

[Umbran]

Yep, that would do it. Well, for half the population anyway.

The point is that nigh-universal registration for a thing is quite workable. We already do it for half the population - extending it to the other half is merely a question of handing them the forms, too.

 

[delericho]

The point is that nigh-universal registration for a thing is quite workable.

It can certainly be done. My suspicion, though, is that there may be stronger vested interests who want to keep the draft records up to date than there would be for donor registration. But I may be wrong - I tend to be quite pessimistic about such things.

 

[Umbran]

Another detail to the OT. It is unlawful to posess human remains (barring proper paperwork). So regular joe schmoe is getting the body of their dead relative anyway. Thus there is no intrinsic right to the body by virtue of the law saying you can't have the body in your posession.

While the old saw is that possession is 9/10ths of the law, we should not conflate the ability to have something in your physical possession with the right to make decisions about a thing's disposition. I mean, I can own mineral rights to a huge tract of land. It doesn't fit in my pocket, and even if I am standing on it, it can be too large to consider it in my physical possession. However, I still have rights to determine how, or if, those minerals are managed.

So, just because you can't keep Uncle Jed in your freezer, doesn't mean you have no right over what happens to his remains.

 

[Umbran]

We don't have any direct equivalent over here.

Do you have national or regional ID cards? Make checking the box a requirement for getting one once you are an adult. Done.

 

[Kramodlog]

Yeah, I am not comfortable with that precedent. Note how you've already generalized it to "property rights"?

If they can take your body and use it to save lives, why not take your other property, too?

That is a slippery slop type argument. And besides, it is already done with estate taxes.

 

[Kramodlog]

The exact same argument works in reverse: if you do want to give your organs, just sign the card and it will be done. Everyone already has the opportunity to contribute to the solution.

Except it doesn't work. So chances need to be done to make it work.

It is generally always the same, when its everyone's problem its no one's problem (so nothing happens). This is why sometimes the state needs to intervene.

 

[delericho]

Do you have national or regional ID cards?

No. There was talk of bringing them in, but it was scrapped in 2010. We have a National Insurance card, but that gets issued automatically. The closest to an ID card are our driving license and passport. Most people have one or the other, but not all.

But, yes, they could of course make it a requirement that you make a statement to get one of those documents.

 

[tomBitonti]

One premise being, if there is a market value for you being dead, then some people will find a way to expedite that. At the tinfoil hat end of the spectrum, that'd be a reason to not check the organ donor box on your driver's license so you don't turn up in a database that some rich guy has access to so he can decide, "looks like Morrus has just the right size liver for me, let's do an early withdrawal."

This. I'm glad there is a strong wall between organs (and other body parts) and the notion that they would be treated the same as other assets.

If organs have a commercial value, could they be seized in bankruptcy? Or, could I gamble away the rights to my liver, or eyes?

If I have a rare blood type, can I be forced to provide regular blood donations to defray an obligation?

Thx!

TomB