Few days ago few friends and I were discussing ways to make extra cash, we were looking for an easy yet “legal” way. One suggested selling of a kidney, as we joked about it. We searched the net and what came to us as a shock one kidney in the US black market can go for $250 thousand dollars.

I always thought of our bodies as our own property, we had the right to do what we want with it. If one wants to engage in surrogacy, prostitution, etc they are free to do so. As I read through the article by Anne Phillips, looking at the word property in a literal way never crossed my mind before. If one is able to to use their body to clean someone’s house or plant a garden then they should be able to use their bodies for other things as well. I’m not sure if I really agree with this justification. Inequality is wide spread and people are looking for ways to try and get out of that state. Placing restrictions on markets might not be the way to go, but I’m also not sure if regulating it will be the answer as well.

We should have control over our own bodies but I think with limitations. And we need to be careful with the use of the language around body property.