Imagine winning a lottery in which an individual must give their life by allowing a doctor to harvest al viable organs in order to save the lives of others. In John Harris’s article The Survival Lottery this scenario is all too real. Each individual is given a number, if two or more individuals are in need of an organ transplantation a doctor has the right to utilize the survival lottery method in which an individual’s number is randomly generated by a computer, if this occurs they must donate all viable organs to those in need. It is easy to see how this comes across as unethical and morally wrong, but what makes it solely unjust to give an individual’s organs away to those in need is not so easily understood. A human being should not be forced
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A majority of the population would be ecstatic if they won the lottery, but this lottery is far from any other. In this scenario an individual must give their life in order to save the lives or a few people suffering from organ failure. Every citizen is assigned a number, a doctor has the right to utilize the lottery if two or more of their patients are in need of an organ transplant. A computer randomly generates a number the individual who possesses that number must then donate their organs, in a sense giving their own life, in order to help save the lives of others. This seems to be highly unethical, there is no doubt about that, but what makes it so …show more content…
In the article Harris states that individuals are more likely to be killed in a car accident than to be selected to donate their organs to those in need. Harris says that most of us do not lie in bed troubled by the thought of getting in a potential car wreck each time we leave the house. Thus why would human beings lie awake at night worrying about being called upon to donate their organs when the chance of that ever occurring is slimmer than a fatal car wreck happening. Harris believes that it is absurd to speculate that individuals will have increased anxiety levels due to the implementation of a survival lottery when there are other everyday activities that cause substantial death tolls that do not cause fear or worrisome behavior amongst individuals of
A majority of the population would be ecstatic if they won the lottery, but this lottery is far from any other. In this scenario an individual must give their life in order to save the lives or a few people suffering from organ failure. Every citizen is assigned a number, a doctor has the right to utilize the lottery if two or more of their patients are in need of an organ transplant. A computer randomly generates a number the individual who possesses that number must then donate their organs, in a sense giving their own life, in order to help save the lives of others. This seems to be highly unethical, there is no doubt about that, but what makes it so …show more content…
In the article Harris states that individuals are more likely to be killed in a car accident than to be selected to donate their organs to those in need. Harris says that most of us do not lie in bed troubled by the thought of getting in a potential car wreck each time we leave the house. Thus why would human beings lie awake at night worrying about being called upon to donate their organs when the chance of that ever occurring is slimmer than a fatal car wreck happening. Harris believes that it is absurd to speculate that individuals will have increased anxiety levels due to the implementation of a survival lottery when there are other everyday activities that cause substantial death tolls that do not cause fear or worrisome behavior amongst individuals of