title: Ethics, organ donation and tax: a proposal.
abstract: Five arguments are presented in favour of the proposal that people who opt in as organ donors should receive a tax break. These arguments appeal to welfare, autonomy, fairness, distributive justice and self-ownership, respectively. Eight worries about the proposal are considered in this paper. These objections focus upon no-effect and counter-productiveness, the Titmuss concern about social meaning, exploitation of the poor, commodification, inequality and unequal status, the notion that there are better alternatives, unacceptable expense, and concerns about the veto of relatives. The paper argues that none of the objections to the proposal is very telling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Philosophy, University of Roskilde, Roskilde 4000, Denmark. thomassp@ruc.dk
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Søbirk Petersen
authors.forename: Kasper
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lippert-Rasmussen
mesh_terms: D002204:Capitation Fee / Q000941:ethics; D032821:Commodification; D003718:Denmark; D019049:Developed Countries; D006801:Humans; D010067:Ownership; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011203:Poverty; D012935:Social Justice; D019464:Tax Exemption / Q000191:economics*; D014019:Tissue Donors / Q000941:ethics; D009927:Tissue and Organ Procurement / Q000191:economics* / Q000941:ethics*; D035862:Vulnerable Populations