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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.

Original publication

DOI

10.1007/bf02448904

Type

Journal article

Journal

Journal of bioethical inquiry

Publication Date

01/2004

Volume

1

Pages

27 - 31

Addresses

Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia. dominic.wilkinson@rch.org.au

Keywords

Humans, Commodification, Paternalism, Personal Autonomy, Government Regulation, Freedom, Public Policy, Commerce, Philosophy, Tissue Donors, Tissue and Organ Procurement