Bishops Raise Concerns Over Potential Rewriting of U.S. Brain Death Law

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the National Catholic Bioethics Center have issued a joint warning regarding potential changes to U.S. law that could broaden the definition of brain death. They argue that the proposed revision relies on "deficient medical criteria" and lacks "compelling scientific evidence."

Photo credit: Robina Weermeijer

Highlights

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
7/20/2023 (1 year ago)

Published in Health

Keywords: Brain, death, law, U.S., bishops, USCCB

The Uniform Law Commission (ULC), a nonprofit group based in Chicago responsible for drafting model legislation for U.S. lawmakers, is currently considering revisions to the Uniform Determination of Death Act during its 132nd annual meeting in Honolulu. Among the debated changes is a proposal to replace the current brain-death standard of "irreversible cessation" of key brain or respiratory functions with one that includes "permanent coma" and "loss of brainstem reflexes" as indicators of death.

In their joint letter, the Catholic bishops and the bioethics center express concerns that this revision would essentially redefine brain death as partial brain death, allowing patients exhibiting partial brain function to be declared "legally dead" despite still being biologically alive. They argue that such a change contradicts Catholic teaching, which supports the current standard of "irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain" as the criteria for determining death.

Moreover, the potential revision could impact organ donation practices. While the Catholic groups acknowledge organ donation as a generous act that aligns with ethical teaching, they emphasize that it should only be performed under proper conditions. The suggestion that "partial brain death is sufficient for vital organ retrieval" may discourage individuals from becoming donors.

Another alarming concern raised by the bishops and the bioethics center is the potential use of the new standards to justify protocols that deliberately block blood flow to the brain, leading to the active death of donors during organ retrieval procedures.

In light of these concerns, the USCCB and the National Catholic Bioethics Center urge the ULC to retain the original language of the Determination of Death Act. They further call upon the nonprofit group to encourage medical professionals to update clinical testing guidelines to align with the current legal definition of brain death, rather than altering the legal definition based on inadequate medical criteria.

While the revisions are scheduled for debate during the Honolulu meeting, final approval will occur at a later date. The motivation behind these changes appears to be harmonizing state laws concerning the determination of death due to imprecise language in existing statutes, as reported by the scientific journal Nature.