The Founding Fathers of the United States had a deep understanding of the importance of private property for both prosperity and freedom. As such, common law and state laws have been established to protect property rights. This includes the right to alienate biological material, but does not include other rights related to a person's body, such as the right to medical care. The theory of property rights provides criteria for determining who owns what, but it does not have the power to determine the exact nature of the property right.
The words “own” and “property” are often used to refer to both full property rights and some inalienable and non-negotiable rights. Therefore, it is important to create a mix of social objectives, such as justice and economic productivity, when organizing property rights. Natural rights theorists view property as a relationship between the owner and the object owned. We suggest five principles of bodily rights and how they can be applied to create ethically appropriate sets of rights on biological material.
In an academic context, it is important to distinguish between “own”, which refers to all property rights that include the right to sell, and “own” which refers to inalienable or non-negotiable rights. This will help determine whether a package can be classified as a property right or another type of right. According to this point of view, society is free to choose the system of property rights that best promotes social goods, such as justice and economic productivity. However, it should be noted that the right to bequeath should not be included among the rights that define the concept of property.
Some packages will be traditional property rights while others will be better described as inalienable or non-negotiable rights.
