Face Transplant or Murder?

DENVER, CO - Last week in France, a woman who was mauled by a dog,  received a face transplant.  Apparently, her face was extremely disfigured and it was determined that she would be a good candidate for the first facial transplant.  The medical community has voiced many ethical concerns, but somehow I think they missed the point.  All their concerns revolved around whether or not the surgery will produce the correct results.  What if she cannot adjust to her new face?  Was she suicidal before the operation, and if so, will she inhibit the on going post-op treatment? 

Folks, THE DONOR WAS ALIVE!  She was declared brain dead, why or by whom,  I have yet to determine - but she was alive!  I would think that we would have seen at least an eyebrow rise in the Christian community.  It happened in France you say?  It won’t affect us in the U.S.?  First of all, borders do not relieve us of our duty to protect innocent life. Secondly, if you think for one minute the media doesn’t know exactly what going on, you do you are sadly mistaken.

This quote by Hutchison, the chief executive of Saving Faces - the Facial Surgery Research Foundation, was released in the BBC News the UK edition Wednesday, November 30^th.

"The transplant would have to come from a beating heart donor. So, say your sister was in intensive care, you would have to agree to allow their face to be removed before the ventilator was switched off."

I also learned from reading online about some outrageous practices accepted in France that, get this, brain-dead patients in France are presumed to be organ donors unless they have made explicit provisions to the contrary. Approval by next of kin is not normally required.  Given the delicacy of the case, the donor's family was consulted…

Imagine being in a car accident at eighteen years of age.  Would you have thought far enough ahead at eighteen years old to prepare a will, or to leave a written directive as whether or not you wanted to be harvested?  I think not. 

Now take a minute and think about what our future holds.  A doctor seeking notoriety and wealth need only find an organ from a living donor to reach his goal.  Only a declaration of “brain death” stands between his or her fame and fortune. Do you honestly believe that that doctor is going to risk their potential wealth and notoriety waiting for a donor?  ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!  It goes against the fallen nature of man. 

It’s a "me first" universe if you haven’t noticed.  By French standards,  we wasted Terry Shiavo.  Instead of starving her to death, we could have harvested her organs and then pulled the plug. 

This is a deplorable situation that must be addressed by the Christian community. 

In Christ,

Jo Scott