By John Stonestreet and Kasey Leander In a spiraling culture of death, Canadian jurisdictions disregard bodily autonomy by opting in residents by default. Following the lead of the province of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick became the second jurisdiction in Canada to adopt a policy of “presumed consent” for organ and tissue donation. Instead of willingly opting in to be an organ donor, residents 19 years and older, with limited exceptions, will be opted in by default. While many see this as a solution to the perpetual demand for transplant organs, laws like these treat the ethics of organ donation as a settled matter while treating humans and their bodies as means to other ends. Even more, considering Canada’s policy of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), this step will corrode the already thin ideas of “autonomy” and “consent” while incentivizing a utilitarian view of human nature. For context, Canada has already experienced a dramatic expansion of MAID toward not only those facing
No Exceptions, No Compromise.