Do we have the right to say what happens to our bodies when we die?

Discussion in 'Opinion POLLS' started by Curious Always, May 16, 2022.

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Humans have the right to determine what happens to their dead body

  1. True

    11 vote(s)
    84.6%
  2. False

    2 vote(s)
    15.4%
  1. Curious Always

    Curious Always Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I’m wondering if you feel you have the right to deny your perfectly good organs to a dying person, after you’ve died.

    My body belongs to science, in whatever way the doctors feel is appropriate. Gross anatomy class, organ harvesting, whatever is needed. I’ve signed the paperwork.

    Why should I have to sign and agree, though? Shouldn’t my body go where it’s most needed to save lives? I don’t need it anymore.

    Thoughts?
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2022
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  2. DaveBN

    DaveBN Well-Known Member

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    I think we all have our wishes for what happens to our bodies when we die, and those wishes should be honored.

    I also think it is better to put your body to use in some way, but I don’t think that should be forced.
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2022
  3. Curious Always

    Curious Always Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I agree. No person shall be compelled, even in death, to provide life to another.
     
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  4. FreshAir

    FreshAir Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    yep, their body, their choice
     
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  5. drluggit

    drluggit Well-Known Member

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    If you believe you have that right, you believe in the ability to determine what happens to your dead body, no? Why should your choice effect anyone else?
     
  6. DaveBN

    DaveBN Well-Known Member

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    This topic actually reminds me; I’ve been looking into tree pod burials. Anyone heard of these, or thinking about doing them for yourself?
     
  7. Curious Always

    Curious Always Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Can you clarify? Do you think a dead body should be compelled to save a life or not?
     
  8. Curious Always

    Curious Always Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I’m going to be cremated after science has used all of me it can.

    I want my dead body to be useful. Every living thing gives its life back to the earth to feed existing and future life. I’m not sure why man thinks it has no obligation to the earth in return. We aren’t a gift to the earth. It’s the other way around.

    Taking up precious land to store bones is stupid.
     
  9. drluggit

    drluggit Well-Known Member

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    No, i do not. But if you choose to allow your body to be harvested for organs, that is your choice. But you shouldn't be able to make your choices a requirement for anyone else.
     
  10. DaveBN

    DaveBN Well-Known Member

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    You should look into the environmental impacts of cremation. If you’re concerned with damage to the earth, that may not be the way to go.

    The tree pod burial doesn’t take up space that isn’t already being taken by the tree above it.
     
  11. Curious Always

    Curious Always Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    So glad you feel that way. Women who get abortions thank you for agreeing that no person should be compelled to save a life.
     
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  12. Curious Always

    Curious Always Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Lol. It’s likely less than your lifetime use of plastic straws.
     
  13. DaveBN

    DaveBN Well-Known Member

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    Maybe, but considering you posted the following:
    It seems that your being a bit inconsistent. Don’t you think so?
     
  14. Overitall

    Overitall Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I'm pretty sure forest fires would outpace cremation when it comes to the footprint left on the environment. A cremation would probably be the equivalent of a drop in the bucket.
     
  15. DaveBN

    DaveBN Well-Known Member

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    This isn’t really an issue I feel like arguing into the ground. Here’s a National Geographic article about the issue if you’re interested.

    https://api.nationalgeographic.com/...on-environmentally-friendly-heres-the-science
     
  16. Curious Always

    Curious Always Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Nope. My ashes use way less environment than the silk lined, lacquered coffin encased in cement.
     
  17. Curious Always

    Curious Always Well-Known Member Past Donor

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  18. DaveBN

    DaveBN Well-Known Member

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    What do you think of the tree pod burials?
     
  19. Overitall

    Overitall Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Your link has a paywall preventing one from reading the whole article, but from what little I was able to read I saw no actual data supporting your claim that cremation has the same environmental impact that forest fires have throughout the world. Add to forest fires natural disasters like exploding volcanoes and I'm inclined to think natural disasters swamped cremations. But, like you said -- it's a trivial matter and as such the impact of it can be ignored.
     
  20. Curious Always

    Curious Always Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    If we didn’t cement ourselves into nicely lacquered coffins, the entire planet would be better. Even still, if natural burial was done after the living used every part of our dead body first, it would be optimal.
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2022
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  21. btthegreat

    btthegreat Well-Known Member

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    Clearly the purpose of this question, is as a prism for society to see the abortion debate, which is slightly unfortunate because I see it as a fascinating discussion on its own. If you don't want to read the philosophy and rationale, skip to the Red. I choose to see it as an extension of the same social contract by which we are obliged to pay taxes, sacrifice ourselves during war, and gain protection. When we choose to live within a society governed by laws, we gain the benefits of communal protection and nurturing but we each have to sacrifice some of our autonomy, property etc as part of that social contract to benefit of that social unit, its need for order and values. We hand over our accumulated wealth for the benefit of the whole, not only in our lives through a variety of taxes, but in extension after our death in the form of an inheritance tax.

    It also regulates what we can and cannot do with and to our bodies both in life and in death. It breaches our complete autonomy by passing suicide laws, drug use laws, conscription laws etc and depending on how strong our 'libertarian' streak is we each see the scope and nature of that contract rather differently. After we die, the government already regulates what happens to that body. We cannot have the body or parts sold. We cannot have that body deposited on someone's doorstep, or sent by UPS to city mayor. We cannot write in some proviso in our will authorizing necrophilia type sex acts with our spouses. Instead, there is a limited process for the disposal of remains already sitting in statutes. Who may take it, and what may or may not be done is no longer soley at the discretion of us, or anyone who we 'will' it to. That's because the larger society still has a stake in what happens after we die to maintain its 'order' and its values, and presumably the actual breach to our autonomy after death is less, when we lose any conscious sense of any loss and feel no impact.

    In essence, this is all about weighing the benefit to the risk, whether we are alive or dead and a series of policy decisions that we make based on the fundamental tension between individual autonomy and social order.

    I am in favor of Roe because I think it sets the right limits on individual autonomy, individual responsibility and broader responsibility to others. In short its smart public policy.

    Currently, I am in favor of a statute that has as its legal default, an assumption of individual waiver based on organ donation, and medical use, just as we have a full code default on what happens before you legally die. If you don't want your remains donated, then you are obliged to make that clear through a method deemed by your state to protect it for mourning. If I change my mind, its likely to as simple as supporting a forfeit of any legal right to deny those organs that will save live lives, eyesight and health. Your bodily remains just got conscripted, or taxed, through a nifty new postmortem governmental right of eminent domain for a hell of a greater good, than a new road. If you don't like it, move elsewhere.
     
    Last edited: May 16, 2022
  22. Collateral Damage

    Collateral Damage Well-Known Member

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    My plans are immediate cremation. No embalming fluid, no useful body parts.
     
  23. MJ Davies

    MJ Davies Well-Known Member

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    I am also an organ donor but my family is not happy about it because I was raised Catholic. The only arguments that I've ever heard against organ donation have been based on a specific religious belief and there are many flavors of those about what should and should happen with someone's physical remains post-death.
     
  24. Hey Now

    Hey Now Well-Known Member

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    Nice. Well executed OP :applause:
     
  25. DaveBN

    DaveBN Well-Known Member

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    I didn’t claim that cremations are on par with natural disasters of any kind. The article stated it’s about on par with two tanks of of gasoline burned in a motor vehicle, which was viable prior to the pay wall I believe.

    If you don’t care about that, that’s fine. I don’t expect to convince you that you should care.
     

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