The Daily Bulletin Archive

James Stacey Taylor, associate professor in the Department of Philosophy, Religion, and Classical Studies at the College of New Jersey, will present "Stakes and Kidneys: Why Markets in Human Body Parts Are Morally Imperative" on Thursday, April 11, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Upton Hall 230.

Taylor argues that consenting rational adults should be allowed to buy and sell kidneys. Peter Randall, for instance, became famous in 2003 for offering his kidney for sale on eBay. A market for kidneys would allow people like Randall to sell his kidney legally and safely; however, when selling kidneys is illegal, as it is now in the United States, everyone in a transplant operation is paid except the donor. According to Taylor, this is morally wrong. The sale of kidneys should be allowed just as the sale of other medical products and services are.

Taylor is the author of several books and many scholarly articles on bioethics, the morality of markets, and ethical issues pertaining to death. He has also published numerous op-eds on bioethical issues in the Buffalo News, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Daily News, and USA Today.

This event is sponsored by the Philosophy and Humanities Department, the Grant Allocation Committee, and the Ethics Bowl Club (a United Students Government organization).