Sally Satel Essay

326 Words2 Pages
Death’s Waiting List In the article “Death’s Waiting List” Sally Satel argues that the business of organ selling should be legalized. She argues that in order to increase organ donors there should be some kind of “incentive,” offered to the donor, whether it be financial or otherwise. She seems to disregard the worry many critics have about the organ donor, and gives examples of situations which were once considered unethical and are now considered “outdated thinking.” In the article Satel uses counter arguments frequently, but with little effectiveness, because she seems to dismiss every argument from the opposing side. She writes that some critics worry that the option of donating an organ for compensation would be most attractive to the poor and needy, and therefore they may be exploited. She makes the argument sound trivial, when she says that education can be provided to each donor about their choices. She then goes on to ask: “Besides, how unfair is it to poor people if compensation enhances their quality of life?”(133). With this question she seems to dismiss the chance that a poor person might be exploited, as if it was nothing to worry about. She also mentions the distastefulness one might feel towards the business of selling and buying organs. She simply rebuts that one needs to have a better reason to not save a life than to just be ethically disgusted. The problem is not the arguments she uses as counterarguments towards her critics, but the tone of mockery she takes when answering each argument. She seems to disregard them as if they were pointless and worthless. Satel also uses analogies to compare different situations in which people agree to monetary or other kind of compensation. She gives the example of charities; where she explains that even though they rely on the work of volunteers, they also have the need of pay workers.
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