A New York state proposal aims to 

In addition, next of kin would no longer be able to challenge the decision of their dead relatives to donate their organs.

The notion of such a "presumed consent" measure is sparking a contentious debate among lawmakers, advocates and folks all over the web.

Those opposed to the measure say it could force people to become donors against their will or lead to concerns that  doctors aren't doing enough to save patients, the Associated Press reports. 

The lawmaker who proposed the measure says the only reason his daughter is alive is because she was able to get two kidney transplants. But too often, people suffer and die because waiting lists far exceed available organs. In New York, just 13 percent of residents are organ donors.

Roughly 150,000 New Yorkers die each year, but less than 1 percent, or only 1,500 people, are likely to possess organs healthy enough for transplantation, says Sally Satal, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in this debate with other scholars and advocates in the NYT.

What do you think? Are proposals like this one a good way to push people to be organ donors? Or does it go too far?

Imagine the people in hospitals and such who will be exploited. Their are some 10,000 New Yorkers are currently waiting on a list for donors, and part of the reason finding them is so challenging is because many people don't consent to organ donation on their licenses.

What exactly is being presumed; the ethical and legal implications that could follow will need to be considered carefully. The meaning of presumption, the issues that could be raised about the ownership of and rights over body organs and further implications for gain, what about addressing the issue of protection of the most vulnerable members of society who may be unable to dissent. The understanding of presumption of consent to organ donation may be considered, by some practitioners of law or science, to be an inaccurate and misleading term.

It is clear that presumed consent is advocated as a means of meeting organ donor shortages and not because the state wishes to assume ownership of body parts per se. Nevertheless, it places the greater emphasis on functionality of body organs and how they can be best utilised to sustain life rather than on the importance of requiring permission of the individual to donate his or her organs.