§ 6.01 The Controversy [55-56]

 

Can property rights exist in human bodies or body parts?  While the law does not permit people to sell themselves into slavery, it has traditionally allowed them to sell certain replenishable body parts (e.g., hair).  Advances in medical technology raise the question of whether body organs such as kidneys or human genetic material can be sold.

 

§ 6.02 Rights in Body Parts Generally [56-60]

 

The law generally acknowledges the authority of all persons to control the destiny of their body parts, yet restrictions exist.  For example, in Moore v. Regents of the University of California, 793 P.2d 479 (Cal. 1990), the California Supreme Court held that a patient whose cells were removed during an operation and later cultivated into a patented cell line without his knowledge, had no property-based claim against his physicians.

 

§ 6.03 Rights in Human Eggs, Sperm, and Embryos [60-62]

 

Commentators have suggested three alternative legal approaches to genetic material: treating it as property, treating it as life, or according it the middle status of special respect.  The most challenging issues involve the destruction of human embryos, where courts have taken a variety of approaches.

 

§ 6.04 Surrogate Parenting: The Sale of Babies? [62-63]

 

In In re Baby M, 537 A.2d 1227 (N.J. 1988) the New Jersey Supreme Court refused to enforce a surrogate parenting contract when the surrogate mother objected; the court ruled that it violated both the statutory provisions governing adoption and the strong public policy that adoption decisions be based on the best interests of the child.