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Should individuals choose their definition of death?
  1. A Molina1,
  2. D Rodríguez-Arias2,
  3. S J Youngner3
  1. 1
    School of Philosophy, University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France
  2. 2
    School of Philosophy, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
  3. 3
    Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
  1. Mr A Molina, 15, Rue de l’Ancienne Comédie, 75006 Paris, France; alberto.molina{at}malix.univ-paris1.fr

Abstract

Alireza Bagheri supports a policy on organ procurement where individuals could choose their own definition of death between two or more socially accepted alternatives. First, we claim that such a policy, without any criterion to distinguish accepted from acceptable definitions, easily leads to the slippery slope that Bagheri tries to avoid. Second, we suggest that a public discussion about the circumstances under which the dead donor rule could be violated is more productive of social trust than constantly moving the line between life and death.

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Footnotes

  • Competing interests: None.

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