The leaders of The Roman Catholic Church in Wales, The Church in Wales and the Wales Orthodox Mission have made a joint response to the Welsh Government on its proposals for Legislation on Organ and Tissue Donation.
The response is based on social, moral and ethical principles and is intended to contribute these important elements to the current debate.
The Churches are profoundly committed to the dignity of the human person in life and in death. The principles outlined in this document seek to preserve the dignity and autonomy of every person whilst creating a proper framework in which the gift of human organs after death is precisely that – an act of solidarity, generosity and love.
The Church leaders state: “Our main concern is that the positive ethos of donation as a free gift is being endangered by an ill-judged if well-intentioned proposal to move from voluntary donation to presumed consent.”
They urge the Welsh Government “to revisit the process and establish a cross party committee that could consider all the evidence submitted to the previous enquiries of the last three years”
