[Avodah] Rabbi: Organ donations OK without dead's consent

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Chaim Manaster wrote:

> I think it is clear to all deleka man depalig, there is no
> ownership (control) after death (nor ownership of your body
> according to the Rabbi in this article even during life).
> Thus you have the perfect basis in halacha (at least from the
> Choshen Mishpot perspective) for an opt out system. Ie, as
> the dead body is ownerless, there is no reason why it should
> not be used to save lives where the only objection might be
> the unknown wishes of the person who died

On the contrary: Doesn't the halacha state that a mes mitzvah acquires ownership of the spot where he died and is therefore entitled to be buried on that spot?

I never learned that in detail, and I have no idea what limitations or other details apply. But it seems to me that once we've established a concept that a mes mitzvah is capable of some sort of ownership, then the door is open to the *possibility* of other sorts of ownership. And I dare say that his body would be at the very top of the kal vachomer list.

I am NOT paskening that an ordinary dead person owns his body. All I'm saying is that (contrary to the first line of what I quoted from RCM) it isn't clear to *me* that he *doesn't* own it.

Akiva Miller

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