Dutch TV Contestants Vie for Kidney
The Dutch continue to stun with their fall off a vertical bioethical cliff: In this installment, a television show will soon air in which three ill contestants vie for the right to the kidney of a terminally ill woman. From the story in the UK's Guardian:In the show, due to be broadcast on Friday, a woman identified only as Lisa, 37, will select a recipient based on their history, profile and conversations with their families and friends. Throughout the 80-minute show, viewers will be invited to send Lisa text messages to advise her.
This is voyeurism on a scale that boggles the mind. It turns the serious issue of the ethics of organ transplant into a game show. It denies intrinsic human dignity in that it pits desperate people against each other, clawing and kicking--metaphorically speaking--for life. What kind of a physician would be willing to be part of such a spectacle?
Hey! Here's an idea: Maybe in the next show they can tie the organ contest with a televised assisted suicide! That would garner the ratings.
But, why worry: It's just "choice," right?
posted by Wesley J. Smith @ 7:18 AM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
That's pretty messed up.
But since you're using this to showcase the lack of ethics in Holland, I'm curious why you left out these quotes from the same article:
"The government has called for De Grote Donorshow (The Big Donor show) to be dropped because it is "unethical" and "wretched" but the broadcaster BNN said it would go ahead to highlight the difficulties of searching for kidney donors....The ruling coalition parties the Christian Democrats and the Christian Union have condemned the show."
Well, I linked the story, but a nation's ethics is not limited to what a government representative might say. It is about the entire culture, isn't it?
So, you're going to assume that one station playing one show makes up the entire culture, despite condemnation from its democratically elected government?
I don't think that'd be fair to the Dutch. I know I wouldn't America judged singly on say, "Jackass" or "Borat."
In the context of assisted-suicide, didn't you find a petition signed by 10,000s Dutch doctors against it?
When I went to Amsterdam in 1993, I asked various Dutch people what they thought about the infamous red-light districts and smokehouses. They told me, "Amsterdam is in Holland, but it's not Dutch." I undestood that to mean that even though A'dam has an anything goes mentality, the average Dutch citizen is far, far more conservative.
I think the show could raise awareness about organ donation, which could only be a good thing.
Yes, the method they're using is ethically questionable, but let's face it - sometimes sensationalism is the only way to raise public awareness. The creators of the show may be motivated by money, but the benefits could outweigh the ethical dubiousness. After all, who needs organs once they're dead?
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