Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Are Human Beings Simply A Collection Of Body Parts?
Are Human Beings Simply A Collection Of Body Parts?
Jul 5, 2025 12:16 PM

There is nothing simple about Bl. John Paul II’s writings, and yet, his work collectively called the Theology of the Body offers a remarkable chance to reflect on the unique creation that is man. In modern culture, we see humanity reduced to a collection of parts (a lung to transplant, a womb to be rented) or as an instrument to be used (for lust or for slavery.) The human body has e “treachery”, as George Orwell notes in 1984, not a beautifully rendered creation. John Paul II:

There is a deep connection between the mystery of creation, as a gift springing from love, and that beatifying “beginning” of the existence of man as male and female, in the whole truth of their body and their sex, which is the pure and simple truth munion between persons. When the first man exclaimed, at the sight of the woman: “This is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (Gn 2:23), he merely affirmed the human identity of both. Exclaiming in this way, he seems to say: here is a body that expresses the person!

Following a preceding passage of the Yahwist text, it can also be said that this “body” reveals the “living soul,” such as man became when God-Yahweh breathed life into him (cf. Gn 2:7). This resulted in his solitude before all other living beings. By traversing the depth of that original solitude, man now emerged in the dimension of the mutual gift. The expression of that gift—and for that reason the expression of his existence as a person—is the human body in all the original truth of its masculinity and femininity.

The surge of “trafficking” in humans gives us pause. Even the term – “human trafficking” – makes one think of moving “things” from one place to another, rather than the theft of a human life. Yet, bringing light to modern slavery can stop the slide towards Orwellian’s treachery, and remind us that each “body” is not simply a “body” – a collection of parts to be used, but the expression of a person, an immortal soul.

Dr. Henrietta Williams is a gynecologist who works in Nigeria, and was recently invited to present at the Vatican conference on human trafficking. She said that trafficking is a larger problem than most people think, with prostitution being es to most people’s minds when they hear that term.

[W]e’ve found that there are a lot of players in the background – we don’t know (exactly) who they are – who are making a lot of money: so called ‘respectable members’ of society, panies, exploiting women not just for sex – for labor…

As a doctor, I’m actually very concerned with these young girls in Africa, in Nigeria,” she said, noting that special clinics called “fertility centers” recruit young girls ages 15-18 to donate eggs.

The girls are “paid some paltry sum – about 50 euros” [about $67 U.S.] so the clinics can “harvest eggs from them after hyperstimulation, which is actually a dangerous medical procedure. And the girls’ eggs are used for experimentation abroad,” the gynecologist explained.

Although the women “know that something is being done to them medically,” the clinics “don’t tell them what they are going to use the eggs for.” Because the women are illiterate, they often undergo operations without true “informed consent.”

Williams also notes the rise of “domestic slavery” or “bonding:”

It’s like borrowing money,” in that a family “bonds” their daughter to a person or group “and (they) expect that the girls are going off hopefully to make some money and bring some money back.”

“Others go as domestic workers, housemaids, to people abroad,” continued Williams, “but in actual fact the girls are exploited. They are used and their passports are seized and taken away and they have no freedom.”

Susan Sutovic, a human rights lawyer, knows about this type of exploitation. She believes her son, Petar, was murdered in Belgrade. The reason? To sell his heart on the black market.

[I]nternational organ trafficking is a growing trade.

The growth is down to two factors. First, a reduction in the number of legitimate organs available for transplant – due, in part, to better seatbelt legislation, which has cut the number of healthy young adults dying prematurely in road traffic accidents. And, second, an increase in the number of people waiting for transplants which have e more routine in recent years. As a result, organised criminals can now make a fortune from unethical clinics who will buy a heart, kidney or pancreas for wealthy patients.

It is now possible to order an organ on the internet. It’s also possible, if you are poor, desperate, and willing to part with, say, a kidney, to broker a deal with traffickers. Recent research by the World Health Organisation (WHO) found that traffickers illegally obtain 7,000 kidneys each year around the world.

Renting a womb in India is big business: over $400 million a year for that nation, with the average “surrogate” making between $6,000 to $8,000 for each pregnancy. India’s laws regarding surrogacy are very liberal.

A recent government-funded study of 100 surrogate mothers in Delhi and Mumbai found there was “no fixed rule” related pensation and no insurance for post-delivery healthcare. It cited cases where surrogates were implanted with embryos multiple times to raise the chances of success.

“In most of these cases, the surrogate mothers are being exploited,” said Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research that conducted the study.

The psalmist says, “You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise you, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are your works!” (Psalm 139) That is either true, or it isn’t. If it is true, then we are not simply a collection of parts to be bartered for and borrowed, a tool to be used, a high-functioning appliance. If it is true, then paying women for their eggs is wrong, cutting out parts of the poor for the purpose of selling is wrong, domestic servitude is wrong. The human body is “the original truth” – a truth our world wants us to deny.

[product sku=1168]

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
What did Alexis de Tocqueville actually think?
Honoré Daumier (French, 1808 – 1879 ), Alex. Ch. Henri de Tocqueville, 1849, lithograph, Rosenwald Collection Samuel Gregg, research director at the Acton Institute, recently published areview onthe new translation ofAlexis de Tocqueville’sRecollections: The French Revolution of 1848 and Its Aftermathin which Tocqueville, the “quintessential man of theory,” gets dirty aboutthepolitics of the French Revolution. Why would the man whowrote bothDemocracy in America(1835, 1840) andThe Old Regime and the Revolution(1856) write an explicit reflectionon hispolitical interactions? To answer, Gregg directly...
5 things you need to know about the UK’s 2017 general election
The UK’s 2017 general election: What you need to know. The future of UK politics, Brexit negotiations, and transatlantic values has been thrust into uncertainty following the UK snap election on Thursday night. The hung Parliament will require a coalition, but the Conservative Party’s most likely partner will seek concessions on Brexit and possibly on social issues. Here are the facts you need to know: Theresa May lost seats but will remain prime minister – for now. Prime Minister Theresa...
Why you should care about today’s UK snap election
Today, voters across the UK wentto the polls to elect Members of Parliament in the snap election called on April 18. American observers and people of faith should care about the results, because they could affect the transatlantic alliance in numerous ways. First, the election could deepen, or chill, the “special relationship” between the United States and the UK. Prime Minister Theresa May and President Donald Trump have established a cordial relationship and share a symbiotic goal. May seeks the...
A cleaner environment requires human creativity, not technocrats
When es to climate change, economists can’t predict the future, says Anne Rathbone Bradley in this week’s Acton Commentary. But economic thinking is a roadmap for prudence and in terms of environmental policy, that’s precisely what we need. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris climate agreement just days ago, provoking a brouhaha over environmental policy. For those who are genuinely concerned about environmental stewardship, we can in fact do better without the UN-sponsored framework. We can...
5 Facts about infrastructure
President Trump has designated this week as “Infrastructure Week,” a time dedicated to “addressing America’s crumbling infrastructure.” Here are five facts you should know about America’s infrastructure. 1. The Federal government has defined infrastructure as the framework of interdependent networks and prising identifiable industries, institutions (including people and procedures), and distribution capabilities that provide a reliable flow of products and services essential to the defense and economic security of the United States, the smooth functioning of governments at all levels,...
Understanding the President’s Cabinet: Director of National Intelligence
Note: This is post #20 in a weekly series of explanatory posts on the officials and agencies included in the President’s Cabinet. See the series introductionhere. Cabinet position:Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Department: Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) Current Director:Dan Coats Department Mission:“The core mission of the ODNI is to lead the IC in intelligence integration, forging munity that delivers the most insightful intelligence possible. That means effectively operating as one team: synchronizing collection, analysis and counterintelligence...
Audio: Samuel Gregg on Theresa May’s Election Blunder
On Friday afternoon, Acton Institute Director of Programs Samuel Gregg joins guest host Paul Kengor on Ave Maria Radio’s Kresta in the Afternoon to discuss the shocking results of last week’ssnap UK elections that saw Theresa May and the Tories lose their majority in the UK Parliament. Gregg looks at the coalitions likely to form as a result and the impact the election will have on the ing Brexit negotiations. You can listen to the interview via the audio player...
When Lightning McQueen brought jobs to rural America
“Main street isn’t main street anymore. No one seems to need us like they did before.” Americans continue to face the violent winds of economic change, whether stemming from technology, trade, or globalization. Those pains have been particularly pronounced in rural areas, which the Wall Street Journal recently proclaimed as being the “new inner city” due to accelerating declines in key measures of “socioeconomic well-being.” In response to these trends, progressives and populists have been quick to turn to a...
Bernie Sanders imposes a religious test for public office
This week the U.S. Senate held a hearing in which an explosive revelation was made that threatens to undermine the Constitution. And no, I’m not talking about the Comey hearing (that was rather a dud). I’m referring to the confirmation hearing for the deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. You probably didn’t hear much about that hearing, or the nominee, Russel Vought. And you likely wouldn’t have heard about it still if Bernie Sanders hadn’t decided to...
No one should be surprised the Portland attacker felt the Bern
On Friday, May 27, Jeremy Joseph Christian accosted a Muslim woman, then stabbed three men in Portland. Two have died – one a 23-year-old, the other a veteran and father of four. The third victim’s injury reportedly missed being fatal by one millimeter. This morning at his arraignment, the grand jury returned a 15-count indictment that could grow longer – and could include the death penalty. Some are surprised to learn that this white supremacist supports Bernie Sanders, opposes the...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved