Hollywood 2010 bioethics seminar #2: Repo Men
Jude Law, Forest Whitaker and organ repossession
Well, at 22% this is one of the
lowest ranking films on Rotten Tomatoes, but Repo Men does have something to do
with bioethics, so here is the trailer. The idea is that sometime in the
future, artificial organs are repossessed if the recipients fail to pay their
gigantic debts promptly. This is a task which Jude Law and Forest Whitaker
carry out mercilessly, giving an opportunity for lots of knives, blood, gunfire
and explosions. Then Jude Law’s character needs a new heart. And he can’t pay.
The imagination boggles. Well, actually, it doesn’t because the action scenes
have been cloned from every other B-grade action movie. But it does make you
think, however fleetingly, about the ethics of organ markets.
Michael Cook
Hollywood
organ donation
organ markets
Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.
Latest posts by Michael Cook (see all)
- How long can you put off seeing the doctor because of lockdowns? - December 3, 2021
- House of Lords debates assisted suicide—again - October 28, 2021
- Spanish government tries to restrict conscientious objection - October 28, 2021
More Stories
Commercial surrogacy hammered in Rome
Momentum in growing in Europe for a global ban on surrogacy. Italy’s Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni has blasted surrogacy as...
Canadian man wins right to a government-funded ‘penile-preserving vaginoplasty’
An Ontario man has won the right to government-funded gender-affirming surgery in the United States which will give him both...
14-year-olds will be able to change their gender legally in Germany
German lawmakers have made it easier for transgender, intersex and non-binary people to change their official gender. A controversial Self-Determination...
Gaza’s IVF embryos have been destroyed by Israeli bombs
One of the many casualties of the war in Gaza has been the embryos and gametes stored at the Al-Basma IVF...
UK doctors fear toxic abuse over their research on trans issues
Fallout from the Cass review of transgender medical treatment in the UK continues. The Guardian interviewed doctors and researchers who...
Utah’s new stem cell law undermines FDA’s authority
The state of Utah has just enacted a law permitting patients to receive medical treatments using placental stem cells without formal approval...
