# Should all Federal prisoners be automatic "opt-ins" for organ donation? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 13, 2019, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190 "2019-09-13T21:58:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/1 "2019-09-13T21:58:33Z")
Would you approve of all Federal prisoners being an automatic “opt-in” for organ donations while serving their sentences? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/2 "2019-09-13T22:02:59Z")
No. One right that has been repeatedly upheld for prisoners is freedom of religion, and many people object to organ donation on religious grounds. I believe in an opt-out system, and would prefer it to be established universally, but singling out prisoners to be donors seems to me to be a violation of fundamental rights. ---
**Author:** ![mjmlabs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mjmlabs/32/69_2.png) [@mjmlabs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmlabs)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/3 "2019-09-13T22:04:02Z")
Not while there’s a death penalty. I’ve seen that movie before. (I think it’s playing in China and North Korea right now, come to think of it.) But maybe that would incentivize the federal prison system to tackle HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases among the prison population. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/4 "2019-09-13T22:05:00Z")
No, it’s adds a value to incarceration that could run the risk of titling decisions in the favor of jailing someone. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/5 "2019-09-13T22:21:53Z")
No…just…no. You go to jail, and lose sovereignty over your body in many ways. To revoke one’s agency over their wishes about their remains is macabre and horrifying. Doesn’t surprise me that some people would support it, though. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/6 "2019-09-13T22:21:57Z")
Only if _everyone_ is opt-in, and they’re given as clear and straightforward an option for opting out as everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/7 "2019-09-13T22:30:06Z")
With our prison system and legal system no, just no. But as I like the idea that the UK implemented of all are opt-out. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/8 "2019-09-13T22:56:00Z")
To **Czarcasm** , just what do you think Federal prisoners are in for? If you are imagining a bunch of Jeffrey Dahmers then you are very mistaken. Why do you think that the fact that they were convicted of a Federal crime makes them candidates for harvesting their organs? [https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics\_inmate\_offenses.jsp](https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp) ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/9 "2019-09-13T23:37:59Z")
I suspect the OP actually means “opt-out”. Meaning, you are enrolled in the program with your knowledge but without your consent. You are however free to opt out and withdraw consent at any time. This is different from “automatic opt-in”, because this operates on assumed consent (for example 10 pages of fine print saying they can use your private information however they wish). It’s a shady practice and I don’t support it whether it’s email harvesting or organ harvesting. I think organ donation should be opt-out for federal prisoners and also everyone else. Meaning - you are explicitly notified that you are automatically enrolled in the organ donation program, unless you explicitly opt out. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/10 "2019-09-13T23:45:31Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Only if _everyone_ is opt-in, and they’re given as clear and straightforward an option for opting out as everyone else. Agreed. I don’t see this as an area where there’s any reason for prisoners to have different rights than non-prisoners have. I would support a program of making everyone, prisoners and non-prisoners, an automatic opt-in with an easy opportunity to opt out for those who wish to. ---
**Author:** ![Skypist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skypist/32/169_2.png) [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2019, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/11 "2019-09-13T23:55:31Z")
Ew. No. That’s a violation of rights that I don’t think you should lose because you got sentenced to prison. Plus not everybody is a candidate to donate organs anyway, depending on their own medical conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/12 "2019-09-14T00:12:36Z")
Oh, hell no. Dehumanize them further, and recidivism rates and reincarceration go even more sky-high. Along with relapse rates, attempted and successful suicide, abuse of others, and probably even barratry. Currently inmates have the right to the same level of medical care as people in the community. I see no reason to change that. Let’s not be like China, folks. ---
**Author:** ![Teddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Teddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teddie)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/13 "2019-09-14T00:14:13Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > No, it’s adds a value to incarceration that could run the risk of titling decisions in the favor of jailing someone. This was my immediate thought along with the thought of Of Course Not! ---
**Author:** ![Teddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Teddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teddie)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/14 "2019-09-14T00:17:49Z")
Sometimes the numbers on the polls on the Straight Dope make me want to sob with with shame, I’m happy to see the numbers on this poll. ---
**Author:** ![Teddie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Teddie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teddie)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/15 "2019-09-14T00:21:42Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > With our prison system and legal system no, just no. But as I like the idea that the UK implemented of all are opt-out. Yep, opting out is definitely the way it should be imo. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/16 "2019-09-14T00:26:22Z")
I voted yes, but then I think everyone should be opt-in. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/17 "2019-09-14T01:34:16Z")
Lots of people here confusing the concepts of opt-in and opt-out with a mandatory program. Once more: Mandatory = you are automatically enrolled without your consent, and you can’t withdraw. Opt-out = you are automatically enrolled without your consent, but you can withdraw. Opt-in = you are enrolled only when you consent, and you can withdraw. Automatic opt-in = you consented to one thing, and the fine print says that this is automatic consent for some other thing. Opt-out is the most ethical way to get the most enrollees, because people who are too lazy to opt in are typically too lazy to opt out, but people who really want out can opt out. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/18 "2019-09-14T01:38:28Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Only if _everyone_ is opt-in, and they’re given as clear and straightforward an option for opting out as everyone else. I went with maybe because of this. I would support universal opt-out and then prisoners would be a part of that like the rest of us. The concept of harvesting prisoners for their organs is just insane but that’s where losing the right to opt out for prisoners would end up. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/19 "2019-09-14T03:24:03Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > To **Czarcasm** , just what do you think Federal prisoners are in for? If you are imagining a bunch of Jeffrey Dahmers then you are very mistaken. Why do you think that the fact that they were convicted of a Federal crime makes them candidates for harvesting their organs? > > [BOP Statistics: Inmate Offenses](https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp) I think the question popped into my head while I was reading [this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=881993) in General Questions. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2019, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190/20 "2019-09-14T03:41:31Z")
No. Prison is already cruel enough. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-all-federal-prisoners-be-automatic-opt-ins-for-organ-donation/840190.md?page=2)