Post 2: Organs for sale?

I do not believe that human beings should be able to sell their organs to those who are sick or dying. It is one thing for someone to donate their organs to help out someone that is dying but for someone to sell their organs just to make money is wrong. If countries allowed people to sell their organs more and more people would start doing it to make money. Although their organs would be going to a person who needs them anyways, I think that there are some ethical issues that come into play.

We should not be taking these organs out of our bodies and selling them for money. There are laws that forbid people from selling their body or body parts in order to benefit themselves. Humans are not commodities. When we start selling our bodies for money we are making ourselves a commodity. Yes, a person certainly uses their body for themselves and their own benefit, but we cannot turn our bodies over to others for their own permanent use and benefit. Restrictions on the ability to give ownership and control are not only common, but also in fact inherent in how our society defines ownership.

Another reason why I do not believe people should have the right to sell their organs is for the high risk and danger involved. Surgery is always a dangerous process, so for people to put their bodies in those kinds of risks, only increase the danger and the chance of death. The rich and middle class rarely are they ones who are putting themselves in these high-risk situations. Why would anyone want to put themselves in these kinds of risks? The majority of people willing to do this are the poor and lower class. When people are to the point of desperation that they are willing to sell their body we have problems. It is no longer voluntary when it gets to this point.

After reading Martin Wilkinson's article my view about selling organs does not change. I still believe that people should not be able to sell their organs for money. Although he makes some good points of why it should be allowed I still have my views of why it should not be allowed. Yes, there would be an increasing supply in organs and people do have the right to do what they want with their bodies, there is a certain point where a line has to be drawn. Who says that the organs that are being sold will even work? We could be paying someone for an organ that is unusable. Also people should not be able to sell their bodies for a quick buck. There are many reasons why a person should not be able to sell their organs and for that reason we have laws restricting it.