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WEEK 3: BUYING BODY PARTS.
There has always been a debate on whether buying and selling of body parts should be legalized. Generally, some patients benefit from the selling and buying of body parts. On the other hand, the donor who undergoes the medical procedure does not benefit healthwise. However, he/she benefits financially; however, when we look at it ethically, it does not seem right. The donor, after the whole process, eventually faces a health risk. We save the lives of those patients who survive on machines through the process of transplanting, which is a good thing. However, ethically from the side of the donor, it could be diminishing the donor’s health and exposing the donor to many risks.
From the utilitarianism perspective, the result of the transplant is dependent on its consequences. (Munzer, p.260) If the action of transplanting will end in positive outcomes; thus, it is good; however, if the result has negative effects, then the actions are deemed to be wrong. When we consider the selling and buying of body parts, if the consequences of transplanting will have positive results for the higher number of people, that is all the parties get to benefit; then, transplantation should be allowed. The parties benefiting should be as follows; the patient will receive a kidney, the donor gets rewarded for giving up one of his healthy organs, and lastly, the hospital and the pharmaceutical organizations also get profits. However, if one of the parties fails to benefit and results in either party getting exposed to a certain loss, then the act of transplantation should be avoided in all means possible.
In rule-based ethics, Kant found it wrong to donate any organ or even sell human organs. According to Kant, “To give away or sell a tooth so that it can be planted in the jawbone of another is partial self-murder. “He argued that one’s body purely defined one’s freedom as a human being. ( Slabbert, 2010)Thus selling one’s body parts would be like slowing killing one’s humanity. Therefore anything that involved selling and buying of human body parts was illegal according to Kant’s views. When we compare the two theories, the rule-based approach does not consider that aiding another patient through the donation of a human organ could save many people’s lives. On the other hand, the theory of utilitarianism, consider that organ transplant could be allowed if all parties benefit from the transplantation. Besides, it embraces critical points such as equality and impartiality among the parties involved. In conclusion, the theory of utilitarianism considers that organ transplantation could save many lives in the end.
Works Cited.
Munzer, Stephen R. “An uneasy case against property rights in body parts.” Social Philosophy and Policy 11.2 (1994): 259-286.
Slabbert, Magda. “Ethics, justice and the sale of kidneys for transplantation purposes.” Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal/Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad 13.2 (2010).