All your body are belong to us

Spare organs are a scarce resource, and we all know the best way to distribute a scarce resource. Yes, socialist style confiscation and rationing, of course. It is not really a surprise that the illiberal conspiracy are taking the socialist option of nationalising peoples bodies rather than the liberal option of treating peoples bodies as your own to do with as they wished.

One of the organless straw-men deployed is that somehow being against enforced organ donation is the same as being anti-abortion, even though saying the state can decide how or where your body parts are of best use has exactly the same root as the anti-abortion argument, that the state has more right to decide what happens to your body than you do. My body is mine, to do with as I please. I should be able to take out contracts to do whatever I want with it. A Will is a contract that I have taken out with a trusted third party that should I no longer be able to deal with my affairs they will disperse them according to my pre-defined wishes. Why should the state be able to usurp this contract in order to come in and raid the contents of my chest anymore than it would come in and raid the contents of my fridge?

If I take out a contract to be land filled then that contract should be honoured. If I take out a contract to be incinerated (the cost of which should include the correct Pigou Tax for the carbon released) that contract should be honoured. If I take out a contract with a catering company to be served up at the wake then that contract should be honoured. If I take out a contract to have my remains cut up, plastinated and then given away as paperweights to the mourners then that contract should be honoured. If I take out a contract to have my remains cut up, plastinated and then sold on eBay to pay for the assassination of Gordon Brown then that too should be honoured (should anybody agree to take it up). Likewise if I decide to realise capital in my bits before death, by selling on the right to use them once I no longer need them, then that is what should happen. There is another advantage to this option, the action of the market for these 'no futures' contracts would have the added advantage of meaning when they did get cashed in my organs would continue in the way that was optimum for society, rather than what was optimum for some politician trying to buy votes.