sulawesigirl4
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
So the other night I was flipping through the channels and ended up watching a news report on the proliferation of the human organ blackmarket. People selling their organs (usually kidneys) for profit and the ethics of the whole thing. It's illegal currently, but there are some who are arguing that we should make it legal and then regulate it, while others see it as a horrific practice. I must admit, while I would never sell a part of my body (I'm far too afraid of doctors to go under the knife willingly
) I am not fully certain if it is not a person's right to do so if they wish. After all, we permit abortion under the argument that it is "my body and thefore my right to do what I want with it". Of course, on the flipside, our society has in general decided that just because it's your body and you have financial need does not mean you can sell it ie. prostitution is illlegal.
With the organ market, the scary part is the propensity for the poor to be taken advantage of and exploited. Many of the people on this news program that had sold their kidneys were from very poor former Soviet-bloc countries, and the offer of $10,000 for an operation that they were told would not affect their lives was too much temptation. But some of them found that they were permanently damaged by sub-standard operations and even lied to about the amount of money they would receive. Proponents of legalization would say that these are the kinds of things that make legalizing this necessary. That people are going to do it anyways, and that to make it safe and fair, the government should step in and regulate.
So, is it exploitation? Or a valid way to make money? What are your thoughts on this?
-sula
[This message has been edited by sulawesigirl4 (edited 02-08-2002).]
With the organ market, the scary part is the propensity for the poor to be taken advantage of and exploited. Many of the people on this news program that had sold their kidneys were from very poor former Soviet-bloc countries, and the offer of $10,000 for an operation that they were told would not affect their lives was too much temptation. But some of them found that they were permanently damaged by sub-standard operations and even lied to about the amount of money they would receive. Proponents of legalization would say that these are the kinds of things that make legalizing this necessary. That people are going to do it anyways, and that to make it safe and fair, the government should step in and regulate.
So, is it exploitation? Or a valid way to make money? What are your thoughts on this?
-sula
[This message has been edited by sulawesigirl4 (edited 02-08-2002).]