TORONTO -The question of whether to make Ontario the first jurisdiction in Canada to allow hospitals to harvest organs from dying patients who don't register an objection is proving a weighty one for the province's elected officials.
New Democrat member Peter Kormos introduced a private member's bill Thursday that would presume consent for organ donations from any dying patient who hasn't already made their wishes clear.
It would reverse the current system, which requires people to sign a donor card and obtain the consent of family before any organs or tissue can be harvested.
"To date, it was considered an exceptional act to donate an organ," Kormos said as he introduced his bill.
"I put to you that it's time in Ontario for it to be considered an exceptional act to deny an organ where it could save a life or extend a life."
On Thursday, everyone in the legislature expressed support for a discussion about how to increase the dismally small number of organs that are made available for transplant in the province each year.
Not everyone, however, supports Kormos's controversial idea.
Chief government whip Dave Levac said he won't vote for the legislation as it stands, but said he's fully in favour of using the opportunity to find other ways to boost the province's low rate of organ donation.
Members will be free to vote their conscience on the bill, and Levac said he hopes it sparks constructive debate.
"I recommend strongly that it go to committee so that we can hear from all the stakeholders, because it's controversial in nature - you're asking people to automatically do the reverse negative billing thing again," Levac said.
"I think the intent is absolutely noble; it's important for us to understand the important nuances of organ donation."
Several other Liberals, New Democrats and Conservatives, including Health Minister George Smitherman, said they would vote for the bill because too many people die while waiting for a transplant because an organ's not available.
Others remained wary of an idea that, like Levac, they liken to the controversial practice of negative-option billing, which touched off a firestorm of public outrage in 1995 against Canada's cable companies.
Cable subscribers either had to agree to pay for a costly new package of specialty channels or risk losing channels they already received. Several companies, including Rogers Cablesystems, acquiesced to the anger and backed off the plan.
Conservative Leader John Tory, a former Rogers executive, said he doesn't support the bill, but welcomes the discussion. He'll allow Conservative members a free vote on the legislation, he added.
"I would prefer if we try informing people better as to what they have to do in order to donate their organs," Tory said.
There needs to be a high-profile education campaign before moving to something more "intrusive" like presumed consent, he added.
Mary Ellen Douglas, a national organizer for the Campaign Life Coalition, said presumed consent would violate people's rights.
"Negative optioning, which has been tried by people like the cable companies, has never worked, so here we are trying the same type of negative optioning with human life," she said.
"We don't think this is a good idea."
The bill won't be debated until the next legislative session sometime in the spring, Kormos said, and may only get one hour of second-reading debate.
Kormos said it's irrelevant whether the legislation passes, since it has sparked talk by legislators and will open minds to a controversial issue that makes some squeamish.
"Members from all parties have expressed interest in the proposal, the public has certainly shown interest in it and it's important then that the premier's office and the government keep tuned in to where the public is at," Kormos said.
"This may be a case where the public shows leadership where the government hasn't."
Kormos said he hopes the Liberal government comes forward with organ-donation legislation of its own that reflects more modern, open values.
