Sunday, April 30, 2006
Political Economy
Political Economy
Prof. Eubanks posted a blog about a man selling his tissues, blood, etc after he died. He's the only guy I've ever heard of that was able to do that, let alone, actually dictated where his "belongings" went. I was talking to a USAFA cadet friend of mine about donating blood. He told me that when the services need blood, they have to pay 250$ per pint for the stuff when it isn't donated by service members. Admittedly, it's shocking that the number is so high, but what is more shocking is that when the government has to buy blood, I can't sell it to them. Being a college student, It might be useful to sell some of the stuff every once in a while.
Really, the idea that my body, when I'm dead isn't the property of my heirs, is preposterous. Doctors, nurses, people who transport organs, the people who receive them, all of them gain in some respect from organs or blood or tissue. It is unconstitutional that I cannot sell pints of blood. The governments punishing me If I do is not a valid use of the police power.
People have to be free to act as they wish to. Liberty alone is a good enough reason considering the "assets" we're talking about for trade in blood and organs to be legal. When people have a clearly defined ownership of their assets, they usually make informed decisions about what to do with those assets. As is, the system encourages people to at most, check a donor box at the DMV, and never consider the issue again. If they understood that they carried tens of thousands of dollars of assets with them everywhere they went, better decisions about them would be made.
Prof. Eubanks posted a blog about a man selling his tissues, blood, etc after he died. He's the only guy I've ever heard of that was able to do that, let alone, actually dictated where his "belongings" went. I was talking to a USAFA cadet friend of mine about donating blood. He told me that when the services need blood, they have to pay 250$ per pint for the stuff when it isn't donated by service members. Admittedly, it's shocking that the number is so high, but what is more shocking is that when the government has to buy blood, I can't sell it to them. Being a college student, It might be useful to sell some of the stuff every once in a while.
Really, the idea that my body, when I'm dead isn't the property of my heirs, is preposterous. Doctors, nurses, people who transport organs, the people who receive them, all of them gain in some respect from organs or blood or tissue. It is unconstitutional that I cannot sell pints of blood. The governments punishing me If I do is not a valid use of the police power.
People have to be free to act as they wish to. Liberty alone is a good enough reason considering the "assets" we're talking about for trade in blood and organs to be legal. When people have a clearly defined ownership of their assets, they usually make informed decisions about what to do with those assets. As is, the system encourages people to at most, check a donor box at the DMV, and never consider the issue again. If they understood that they carried tens of thousands of dollars of assets with them everywhere they went, better decisions about them would be made.
