I personally don’t believe that organ sales should be legal but I do see the other side of the argument on why they should be allowed. According to Kant we should do that which should be universal law. In other terms if we take or make an action can that same action be taken every time no matter what with no hesitation. Also according to Kant we should treat others as actual human beings and not objectify them to be a means to an end or be a gain to some sort of life that we want or are trying to get. To have legal organ sales is to objectify someone’s body or even one’s own body for that matter and that is something that Kant is against as well as he emphasizes self care heavily. Kant would also disagree with organ sales because it put’s a monetary value on a person or part of a person. I personally would stand with Kant on this topic because I think at the end of it there would be more damage done than good if organ sales were legal. I think that there would be a great divide on those who would benefit from this. The rich would be the only ones in the market for organs and in a society already dominated by capitalism and money, should the rich take priority in receiving organs just because they have the means and capacity to do so?

On the other hand I do understand the argument for it being legal and how helpful it could become. For the Mills and his utilitarian viewpoint I can see how it could be beneficial and create the greatest happiness amongst the most people possible. In having someone sell their organs if they’re in need of money would drastically help them and maybe even help them out of a tough situation and on the other side of it, whoever needed the organ would benefit because they would be receiving potentially a life saving organ. Although if one were put in the situation in which yourself or a loved one needed an organ to remain alive and well, you would immediately go out and buy an organ without hesitation. But this is motivated by the closeness of the relationship to a person and could not be universally held for everyone. One may not feel the same sense of urgency to find an organ to buy if the person who needs an organ is an unknown to you. The argument for legal organ selling possibly reducing the amount of illegal and black market organ trading I believe is an invalid. We can take a look at the sell and distribution of marijuana. Although marijuana is now somewhat legal in a few states there still isn’t a shortage of illegal marijuana “businesses” conducting what they must. There will still be underground surgeries being done as there will always be people who do not want to go through the proper channels in dealing with situations. I understand the sentiment and the argument in which legal organ sales would be okay in using the utilitarian stance I don’t find it to be a just option to all.

Having legal organ sales would greatly place a monetary value on the human value although some would argue in response that some already do as prostitution is very much prevalent but that is something that again Kant would be against and Mills may possibly be for because of the greatest happiness principle. In the text Mario Morelli notes that there are three general goods/goals one must seek to accomplish according to Kant which are : preservation of species, preservation of life, and preservation of capacity. In selling an organ it would undermine Kant’s preservation of species because he sees removing an organ or vital function of the body as partial suicide (Morelli 318). Suicide, of course, would be against Kant’s preservation of species as it is a contradiction to say that ending ones life is the betterment of someone’s life. In totality the Kant stance looms over and against the sale of organs as selling one’s organs would also subject one to be see as property which can just be sold or traded or bought. That would be against Kant’s idea of not using others as a means to an end or even using oneself as a means to an end. At the end of it we must all see each other for the human beings we are and not anything less.