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Doctors Fear TLC
Will Allow Human Bones, Tissue and
Organs To Be Traded as Merchandise
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Doctors Fear TLC Will
Allow Human Bones,
Tissue and Organs To Be
Traded as Merchandise
Doctors Guido Miranda,
Rodrigo Cabezas, Agustín
Páez and Jorge Arturo
Robles paid a visit to
the offices of the
Diario Extra, the daily
Spanish language
newspaper, to voice
their opinion against
the Tratado de Libre
Comercio (TLC), saying
that human bones, organs
and tissue that is used
for transplants and
grafts may be freely
sold to the North
American market, an act
that is immoral and not
ethical in the medical
profession.
The doctors assure that
the practice could be
become a reality under
free trade agreement
with the United States,
and sent a letter to the
ministro de Comercio
Exterior, Marco Vinicio
Ruiz, to clarify item
30019010 of addendum 3.3
of the free trade
agreement.
Minister Ruiz answered
the doctor's queries by
saying that "human
bones, organs and tissue
for use in transplants
and grafts, like any
other merchandise in
international commerce,
will have a
classification and
coding conforming to the
Sistema Armonizado de
Designación y
Codificación de
Mercancías
(Harmonized System for
Designation and
Codification of
Merchandise)".
The minister added that
Addendum 3.3 of the TLC
deals with the
elimination of duties
that one country
concedes to the
merchandise originating
from other countries to
the trade deal. In
particular to human
tissue, bones and
organs, minister Ruiz
says that Costa Rica
agreed to eliminate
import duties once the
trade deal is in place,
that is to say, the sale
of human organs will not
have duty either in the
United States nor in
Costa Rica.
"The TLC not only
commercializes human
organs but also are
traded as merchanside
and free of duties. This
will open the market for
the exportation of
organs, bones, kidneys,
etc. The problem is to
know how these organs
will be obtained", said
Dr. Guido Miranda, who
is a former executive
president of the Caja
Costarricense de Seguro
Social (CCSS).
The former president of
the Colegio de Médicos y
Cirujanos, Jorge Arturo
Robles, added that
"for us it is immoral
and unethical in the
medical practice".
Robles said that the
donation of organs has
been historically a
humanitarian act and one
of high spirit, however,
under the TLC provision,
organs will be traded
and exported like any
other merchandise,
adding thousands of
dollars to the cost of
which the donor receives
payment.
Dr. Robles, added that
in no free trade
agreement, be it with
the United States,
China, Europe or Japan,
should human organs be
utilized and traded as
merchandise.
For his part Dr. Rodrigo
Cabezas is concerned
that Addendum 3.3
opens a legal window for
the unexpected
distribution of human
organs, tissue and
bones.
The TLC will be voted on
by Costa Ricans on
October 7th by way of
referendum. |
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Doctors
Guido Miranda, Agustín Páez, Jorge
Arturo Robles and Rodrigo Cabezas. |
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