The Commercialization of Life

• Author: Maureen A. McTeer
• Pages: 68-77

Chapter

Seven

The

Commercialization

of

Life

68 »

f the

many threats that genetic engineering

poses

to

society,

the

most urgent

is the

commercialization

of

human

life.1

Commercialization

can

take many

forms,

but,

in

essence,

it

involves treating human

life

as

private property. What happens

if we

choose

this path? Basically, human

life

—

including embryos, gametes,

reproductive capacity, human organs, tissue, body parts,

fluids,

and

processes

—

would become commercial products

to be

bought, bar-

tered, sold,

and

patented.2

Throughout history, human beings have

been

treated

as

objects

of

commerce.

I

vividly remember walking

through

a

fort

in

Ghana where people, kidnapped

in the

early nine-

teenth century

from

villages

in

west

Africa,

were herded into mass cells

to

await transport across

the

ocean

to

serve

as

slaves. Considered less

than human because

of

inherent characteristics such

as

race

and

colour,

they

were denied basic human rights

and

treated

as

chattels

to be

used

and

abused

at

will. Once

in the New

World,

they could

not

hold

prop-

erty,

vote,

or

seek elected

office.

They enjoyed

no

legal rights

and

were

considered

as

nothing more than human personal property.

It is the

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