Body Parts!

(As many of you know, I have recently entered law school. I hope to turn this blog in some respects into a "law blog" (with the help of my good friend, bob loblaw, of course) in which I can speculate and think out my opinions of some of the cases we read and the topics we discuss. Today's topic concerns property rights of one's body, organs and tissue. While I know nothing regarding property (yet!), I felt compelled to write pertaining our discussion which focused mainly on the question of whether or not people should be able to sell parts of their body.)

On Self-ownership and Body Preperty Rights: In light of Moore v Regents of the University of California

When considering this issue, it seems right that one is in possession of one’s own self, and to the extent that one remains in possession of one’s self and products derived therefrom, one should be free to dispose of those objects as one sees fit. Given my admittedly novice understanding of the law so far, I also feel that the courts would be the best venue to set this kind of precedent.
One of the rights of ownership is to dispose of property, and there is ultimately no compelling reason to forbid individuals from the sale of this property, if they so choose. A main argument of opponents is to appeal to the slippery slope, that perhaps this would lead to some sort of shadowy market for body parts (indeed, such things, albeit illegally, already exist) and perhaps even, one might envision that a new slave trade might emerge. Debtors might be called upon for their organs if they could not make monetary payments and all other sorts of nightmare situations might arise. But, the reader should halt at this term, because we must expose the slippery slope for what it is: at base, a logical fallacy.
Perhaps the court is being this far-sighted, but if one tries hard enough, one can imagine an exception to every rule, this is a basic concept. If this were not the case, one could imagine the courts might have already written all the rules. Then, judges and legislators could rest at ease, there being no further foreseeable (and in this case, possible) scenarios. In fact, all of the Universe could reasonably be thought to be nearing a time where it was completely drawn under the yoke of Understanding, that Man would have become Master of the Universe. But, sadly, this simply is not the case.
Nor is it the case that the events imagined within the slippery slope are inevitable. In fact, many of them simply do not follow, to put it mildly. For the very same reason the courts refuse to set a precedent in this particular case, the notion that a new legitimacy might be found for slavery is extremely unlikely. The courts felt that Legislature is the proper venue for such decisions, that they are subject to greater accountability and pressures to reflect the views of their constituents. However, real inspection reveals that they are also the subjects of great pressures from lobbying groups and from within their own party. Recent events have highlighted the extent to which legislation has become a partisan issue and not a matter of conscience. But, if we return to our utopian Congress, given the current moral views regarding such topics, we could easily presume that they would not ever sign any bill that legalized slavery or legitimized a black market of organs. Even in an ideal system, this argument for legislation barely holds. And, we are far from ideal.
Fortunately, even if the courts did rule that sale of body parts by those who were in possession of them (ie-the person to whom they were a part) should be allowed in toto and in all regards, this does still not necessarily lead to the apocalyptic doomsday that has been foretold. Court law is subservient to statutory law, which already restricts the means in which tissue may be transferred (such as the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act), and as a last check, the Constitution itself has outlawed slavery. These rules are checks to the free reign that detractors imagine in their slippery slope, and surely there are many more.

(in case you don’t believe me…)
13th Amendment to the Constitution
“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. “

Capitalism rests on the theory of a free market, and it premises that one may sell one’s commodities to gain capital. This should not be restricted, except in cases when it interferes with someone else’s rights or perhaps when it conflicts with existing law. Moral considerations must be taken with a grain of salt, as they are only a temporary reflection of the current social and cultural norms. Morals are constantly changing, and therefore cannot serve as a consistent and fundamental basis for the law. There simply is too much flexibility in what we view as moral, and what we may feel is right or wrong may change given a different set of circumstances, even when we preserve the relations and interactions of the original scenario.

Anno Novo

The seasons change. Nature presses onward, but the change is not always a smooth and serene progression as we may like, a gradual blissful ambling from Summer to Fall and Winter, like a graceful aging. Life is instead punctuated by dramatic, often violent changes only after which a calm slowly sets in as homeostasis is renewed. These changes are permanent, the scars remain, but in time they become the very things they once marred. They melt into the character of the land, of the life altered.
And, as we are but elements of Nature, our lives are no different. We experience these events, whether miraculous or traumatic, and they shape who we are. They are the forks in the road; usually they are born of the decisions we make. They are of our own design. Our choices will echo through history, our own at least. Given this gravity and sense of permanence, it is no wonder that they are terrifying. Yet also, they are exhilarating. Despite the fear, perhaps even mortal terror, we must choose. We must press on, just as the Hands of Time and the change of seasons. Death becomes us, but not in the usual sense. Here, it is death of our old bodies as we transcend. If we choose wisely, we are like the caterpillar, we shed our skins and become something new, something beautiful. This is the metamorphosis. We will be changed, but, unlike the caterpillar, we can choose the form and the path of our changing.
The way of Life is not to stagnate, and no matter how content we are or how afraid we may be of what is to come, change will arrive. It may be as the cloaked Shade, rapping its bony, spectral finger upon our door. It will enter! We may as well invite it in, so that we may see just what it is we are so afraid of. We cannot know the future or the outcomes of our decisions for certain, but we can help to shape our destiny. Indeed, we do, the question is whether we realize it or not.
As for me, I know that I have reached the capacity of my present form. That I must shed this skin and rise anew is certain. This does not mean that I will be someone else. I will still exist, and I will still contain all those things that have made me who I am. I will be somewhere in between the completely cumulative person that we casually assume makes us who we are and that radical destruction that Foucault idealized between his epistemes. Obviously, this is not a clean break, but rather a sharp twist in direction. It is the mountain face rising upon the plateau of which lately I have walked.
Perhaps, as I am facing this sheer wall, this period of violent yet willful change, I am merely hoping to steel my nerve. Doubtless, this is true. But, as I prepare to stare this beast in his ghastly face, ghastly because unknown, I realize the truth and necessity in these words. Though my hands may tremble, and my heart race, I must be strong. I will forge ahead because I know that on the other side of this great journey, beyond challenge and adversity, lies a better world and a new sun. I have seen a glimpse of this new vista, and it is breathtaking. And, though I will be changed, I will always retain what I am right now. But, I will be of a higher dimension, a greater quality, and I will never cease to strive towards my dreams. This is not acquiescence, this is not a giving up. This is my will, and this is my choice. And, as change is a sort of death, (for what else can arise from this but a birth of new realms?), I may hope to echo Socrates, when he said "Now we go our separate ways, I to death and you to life. Which is better, no man can tell".