The Morality of Incentivising Organ Donations from Prisoners

Any programme that runs the risk of mistreating already-marginalized persons deserves significant moral scrutiny. So, when a proposal was put forth in the Massachusetts state legislature that would incentivise organ donations from prisoners, it was quite reasonable for the initial reaction to be against the proposal. However, does this initial reaction survive moral analysis? In this paper, I argue that it can be morally permissible to implement programmes that incentivise organ donations from prisoners. I reach this conclusion by considering eight objections against this proposal, offering three reasons in favour of it, and then giving three guidelines for the permissible implementation of these programmes. Still, I conclude that the permissible implementation of these programmes would need to also include the input of many others, including prisoners and those who advocate for them.