Selling organs and souls: should the state prohibit 'demeaning' practices?
It is sometimes argued that practices such as organ-selling should be prohibited because they are demeaning to the individuals involved. In this article the plausibility of such an argument is questioned. I will examine what it means to demean or be demeaned, and suggest that the mere fact that an individual is demeaning themself does not provide sufficient justification for legal prohibition. On the contrary, such laws might be argued to be demeaning.
Wilkinson
Dominic J C
DJ
Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia. dominic.wilkinson@rch.org.au
D003132:Commerce / Q000941:ethics; D032821:Commodification; D005610:Freedom; D033161:Government Regulation; D006801:Humans; D026706:Paternalism / Q000941:ethics*; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010684:Philosophy; D011640:Public Policy; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000191:economics* / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence