The Exchange of Inmate Organs for Liberty: Diminishing the “Yuck Factor” in the Bioethics Repugnance Debate

Abstract

about this story that causes the listener to bristle, raise an eyebrow, or screw her face into a frown? Is it because the required kidney donation is likely illegal? 7 Those who have heard about the Scott Sisters do not focus on the probable illegality, though some do recognize it. Rather, they focus specifically on the "yuck factor"-a strong sentiment that what they just heard is unfair, unseemly, or just plain wrong. The term "yuck factor" is shorthand to express that one's negative gut reaction to a thing, action, or idea proves it is intrinsically harmful and ultimately unethical. 8 In the field of bioethics, arguments are rooted in the "yuck factor" in an effort to defeat the usage or expansion of biotechnological advances such as human cloning, 9 nanotechnology (including nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine), 10 assisted human reproduction, 11 human-animal chimera creation, 12 human biological