Prison Parts: The Theological-Ethical Problem of Using Prisoners as Living Organ Donors

Authors

Eryn Reyes Leong, Loyola Marymount UniversityFollow

Publication Date

5-2024

Keywords

Incarceration, Justice, Theological Anthropology, Theological Ethics, Theology of Embodiment

Abstract

This paper is a theological and ethical reflection of Massachusetts House Bill 2333, which would reduce prison sentences on the condition that state prisoners donate bone marrow or an organ. Looking specifically at agency and bodily integrity as the two facets of imago Dei that are implicated by House Bill 2333, I address the crucial question: Does House Bill 2333 distort the dignity of prisoners as imago Dei by incentivizing living prisoners to donate their body parts in exchange for freedom? Using Margaret A. Farley’s justice framework articulated in Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics (2006), this paper: (1) argues that House Bill 2333 deforms the imago Dei of prisoners and the Christian concept of love of neighbor; and (2) proposes the Scandinavian Prison Model as a possible restoration of imago Dei and love of neighbor. House Bill 2333 objectifies prisoners, treating them as a means to address the organ shortage in Massachusetts, and raises various issues relating to ethics, morality, the body, and the law. However, the Scandinavian model, with its emphasis on freedom, bodily integrity, and relationality, promotes just love, treating prisoners as human persons and ends in themselves.

Recommended Citation

Reyes Leong, Eryn (2024) "Prison Parts: The Theological-Ethical Problem of Using Prisoners as Living Organ Donors," Say Something Theological: The Student Journal of Theological Studies: Vol. 7: Iss. 1, Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/saysomethingtheological/vol7/iss1/2