Economics 13th Edition by James Gwartney, Richard Stroup, Russell Sobel, David Macpherson

Exercise 8

In this chapter, it was stated that a private-property right also involves having the right to transfer or exchange what you own with others. However, selling your organs is a violation of federal law, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison or a $50,000 fine. In 1999, eBay intervened when a person put one of his kidneys up for sale on the auction site (the bidding reached $5.7 million before the auction was halted). Does this lack of legal ability to exchange mean that individuals do not own their own organs? Explain.