As a United States citizen, the Constitution affords the citizens certain absolute liberties. One of those liberties is housed within the most referenced amendment; the 14th amendment. The 14th amendment; ratified in 1868, Section 1 states in part:
…nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Within this amendment lays the foundation for the citizens of the United States to be able to sell their own human organs for profit. In order to sell anything to anyone, you must first own it. The question of owning one’s body should be obvious. And to sell something of such importance should be agreeable and transcribed to a contract between parties. Unfortunately, in order for the contract to be enforceable, the purpose of the contract must be legal. A contract selling human organs would be unenforceable and against public policy. So why is selling your own human organs illegal in the United States? According to the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 (NOTA):
It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human organ for valuable consideration for use in human transplantation if the transfer affects interstate …show more content…
You would think that compensating people for their organs would help the shortage and encourage capitalism. After all, United States is built on the free enterprise idea. Create and regulate a free market “in all aspects of organ and tissue procurement.” The free market will be able to match goods and services with those who need them. The free market would also be able to compensate the donors at fair market value and also keep their liberties intact. Why should the “people be limited to the two options of giving their bodies away or having the government take them without
…nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor to deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Within this amendment lays the foundation for the citizens of the United States to be able to sell their own human organs for profit. In order to sell anything to anyone, you must first own it. The question of owning one’s body should be obvious. And to sell something of such importance should be agreeable and transcribed to a contract between parties. Unfortunately, in order for the contract to be enforceable, the purpose of the contract must be legal. A contract selling human organs would be unenforceable and against public policy. So why is selling your own human organs illegal in the United States? According to the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 (NOTA):
It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly acquire, receive, or otherwise transfer any human organ for valuable consideration for use in human transplantation if the transfer affects interstate …show more content…
You would think that compensating people for their organs would help the shortage and encourage capitalism. After all, United States is built on the free enterprise idea. Create and regulate a free market “in all aspects of organ and tissue procurement.” The free market will be able to match goods and services with those who need them. The free market would also be able to compensate the donors at fair market value and also keep their liberties intact. Why should the “people be limited to the two options of giving their bodies away or having the government take them without