Text 13524, 55 rader
Skriven 2011-01-09 09:49:15 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
     Kommentar till en text av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Welcome to the 21st century in a supposedly civilized country
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Hello Robert,

On Saturday January 08 2011 10:11, you wrote to me:

 MV>> A proposal to do the same thing in The Netherlands was blocked by
 MV>> the Christians. So... Dutch patients go to Belgium for a hearth
 MV>> transplant...

 RB> Regretfully, that's a natural consequence of religious extremism and
 RB> exaggerated ethics concepts: transplant tourism.

I'd like to make a disctinction between fundamentalists and extremists.
Fundamentalists are those who put God's law over human law. Extremists try to
get their way using violence.

Having said that..

 RB> But don't think such stuff is limited to Christians - as far as I
 RB> know, Muslims also require burial of a "whole" body. In such
 RB> questions, I personally think religion should be eliminated.

Of course it is not limited to Christians. It is just that in this particular
issue it was the Christians that managed to raise a minority to block an opt-in
law like they have in Belgium.

Like you, I have serious problems with religeon. Any religeon. As long as they
are in the minority they claim freedom of religeon. For themselves. But when it
comes to the right of aothers to NOT follow them in their beliefs, they are not
so tolerant.

I don't like to be told what I can do or not do on the basis of someone else's
beliefs. I say to them: Ok, if you believe abortion or euthanasia is a sin,
then by all means do not engage in it. But do NOT tell ME, that I can not do it
either....

I would not like to live in a society where Christian or Jewish fundamentalists
have the majority, any more than in a Muslim majority...

 RB> Or, as an alternative, nobody without an organ donor ID (issued prior
 RB> to the illness in question) may receive a transplant.

If it ever came to a vote about that, I'd vote in favour...

 RB> Now _that_ would really generate some heat among those who claim
 RB> "religious" reasons for not being an organ donor. I suspect that many
 RB> such people would suddenly discover that their religion isn't more
 RB> important than their life.

It would certainly make many people reconsider their position.


Cheers, Michiel

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