Surely if such a position were taken here in the US it would come from the Democrats. Of course the Dems would respond to any resistance to such legislation by saying that people can opt out before the fact but if they didn't, "Oh well - they should have."
With that presumption made, compare that to the documented resistance by the Dems and subsidaries of the idea of showing a valid government-issued photo ID before one can vote by claiming that it is too hard/intimidating for the "most vulnerable citizens".
It is my impression that UK doctors would have strong government support if they disregarded "opt outs" or feigned ignorance or a breakdown in the info from a patient's database that contained the opt out.
You make compelling points. I would suggest that the proposed changes already have the mechanisms within them to accelerate such a breakdown, such as the fact that hospitals will be 'rated' as to their 'donated' organ output. Surely no hospital administrator wants to be on the bottom of the national ratings list for organ donations? Having a 'database error' toward the end of every fiscal cycle would insure a steady stream of organs......