Organ Conscription After Death Essay

Organ donation is an amazing part of modern technology that has allowed us to save many lives. Unfortunately, finding organs that are available for donation can be very challenging. This has caused some to theorise about the possibility of organ conscription after death. In this essay, I will be critically assessing the statement `the needs of the living outweigh the wishes of the dead; so organs should be conscripted after death’. I will begin by clarifying what I mean by the terms organ conscription and death, and what the parameters around donation are. I will then examine what is meant by the needs of the living, and the wishes of the dead, and compare the two. Next, I will examine an argument for organ conscription, and analyse its flaws. I will finish with an argument against organ conscription, and examine why an idea that may seem theoretically good, would not work in the real world.
When considering an argument about organ conscription after death, one must first define death. For the purposes of this …show more content…
People who have means should be taxed, and share those means with the worse off so as to ensure that everyone can live a minimally flourishing life. Fabre applies this theory to organ conscription after death. Fabre believes that dead people with healthy organs are like the well off, and sick people who need organs are the worse off. Fabre then goes on to argue that a form of taxation should be applied, and the organs of the dead given to the sick, worse off people thus allowing them to live a minimally flourishing life. This argument directly mirrors the statement that the needs of the living outweigh the wishes of the dead. Fabre persuasively argues that this is true, and that we should always prioritise the needs of the