Kidneys For Sale

 A billionaire executive is in desperate need of a kidney transplant and is low on the waiting list for prospective donors.  However, he decides to offer a proposition to any takers: an immediate $2 million pay out, free health care and an annual payment of  $500,000 a year for the rest of the donor's life (or his wife if he predeceases her) in exchange for one kidney.  After only a few days, he has more than enough people willing to make the exchange.  Unfortunately for the billionaire such a transaction is currently illegal.  But should it?  The exchange, after all, cause no harm to either the executive (whose life is saved )or the donor (who no longer has any financial worries and is perfectly healthy with only one kidney).  What should be the legal status of selling organs -- and on what principle?

Pardon My Offense

 A group advocating for "free love" rents a billboard on a major highway into Cleveland to advertise its political views.  The billboard has nude and sexually explicit images. These images offend the vast number of people who drive to work every day but there is no convenient alternative for most commuters.  A coalition of religious groups petition the city to take down the images to "save the children."  Should the city permit these images to remain or censor them?  Does the fact that images are so offensive (and so difficult to avoid) justify prohibiting them?  What about issues of free speech?  

Obesity and Paternalism

 Rates of obesity in the United States are alarming -- and efforts to reverse the trend seem ineffective.  According the Center for Disease Control and Prevention 38 percent of U.S. adults are obese and 17 percent of teenagers are as well.  Another third or so of Americans are overweight. Obesity can lead to serious health condition such as heart disease and diabetes.   Some governments have attempted or considered paternalist interventions to stem the tide of obesity.  For example, New York City attempted to ban the sale of soda pop in sizes greater than 16 oz.   Other cities such as Berkeley and Philadelphia have passed a soda tax.  In Philadelphia distributors are taxed 1.5 cents per once on soda pop and other sweetened drinks: a 2 liter bottle of pop that used to cost $1.79 sells today for $2.79 because of an added dollar in tax.  These laws are intended to help consumers in these cities -- but have they gone too far?  Are these laws and taxes justified?  Why or why not?

Does Owning a Gun Cause Harm?

 In the wake of yet another mass shooting, survivors and activists are again calling for greater restrictions on gun ownership.   Groups have called for raising the legal age to purchase a gun to 21, creating more thorough background checks for purchases and even banning assault rifles.  Yet gun owners and groups that represent them have resisted such restrictions claim that "guns don't kill people, people kill people."  Which position is correct?  Are restrictions on gun ownership -- and even the prohibition of some kinds of guns -- justified?  Does the ownership of a gun cause harm?  How does it compare to things like the possession of dangerous material such as poison, fertilizer and plutonium? Can the Harm to Others Principle justify restrictions and/or prohibitions on gun possession?