German bishops welcome new organ transplant law (SIR)

The bishops supported a new law under which Germans “will be asked when renewing their national identity cards if they’d like to donate organs.” Lawmakers rejected a rival bill that would have presumed consent to organ donation. The law that was passed “can transform people’s willingness to help into an individual desire to donate one’s organs, while ensuring the highest possible degree of freedom,” said Cardinal Reinhard Marx, president of the bishops’ conference.