Should Organ Donation After Death Be Made Compulsory?

Stance

Against compulsory donation (rich material for autonomy, ethics, law, and pluralism).

Definitions

• Organ donation after death = retrieval of organs from deceased individuals for transplantation.
• Compulsory = mandatory state requirement, overriding individual or family consent.
• Ethical implications = questions of autonomy, bodily integrity, justice, utilitarian benefit, and respect for cultural/religious pluralism.

Assumptions under challenge

1. That the state has legitimate authority to mandate use of the body after death.
2. That compulsory organ donation is ethically equivalent to presumed consent / opt-out systems.
3. That utilitarian gains (lives saved) justify overriding autonomy and pluralism.

Point 1 — Bodily autonomy beyond death

Distinctness: a rights-based and dignity argument.