THE Catholic Church in Scotland has opposed plans to enact an opt-out system for organ donation.
The Organ and Tissue Donation (Scotland) Bill, put forward by Glasgow MSP Anne McTaggart, has proposed radical changes to transplant laws and is currently going through public consultation.
In its response to the consultation, the Catholic Parliamentary Office, on behalf of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland, made clear its objection to the proposals.
The church said the opt-out was discriminatory and would erode traditional legal principles.
It said: "The proposal undermines the important principle of consent in our legal system and undermines the integrity of the person.
"The present system recognises the importance of genuine consent in the treatment of persons and the charitable nature of organ donation which is based on a gratuitous act of kindness on behalf of the donor.
"The proposal is intrinsically discriminatory in that it denies the integrity of the person by overriding the requirement for consent on how a person's organs may be used."
The consultation process on the new Bill will close at 5pm on Thursday.
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