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German Parliament rejects bill to make every citizen an organ donor by default

The German parliament has voted down a proposal to make every citizen an organ donor by default.

Instead, members of parliament accepted the alternative proposal of Annalena Baerbock of the Green Party.

The goal of the Baerbock proposal is to foster a regular examination of the question of organ donation. People would be encouraged to register their decision, either for or against organ donation, in an online database. That decision could be changed at any time.

After the votes, Reinhard Cardinal Marx, president of the German Bishops’ Conference and archbishop of Munich and Freising, welcomed the decision for the “Baerbock proposal” made by lawmakers.

“The German Bishops’ Conference emphatically supports the intention of this law to effectively increase the number of organ donations.”

Marx added, “The law still grants as wide as possible a freedom of decision on the issue of organ donation. At the same time, it takes steps leading to people considering the question of organ donation more intensely.”