Do You Own Your Body?

If there is one thing that the smelliest, most down-and-out, most destitute, most forsaken homeless guy who sleeps under a bridge has in common with Donald Trump it is that they both own their own bodies. That may be all the homeless guy owns, but he owns it free and clear and should be able to do what he wants with it.

And so should we—as long as our activities are peaceful, our interactions are consensual, and our associations are voluntary.

Your body belongs to you—not the state, not some government agency, not some puritanical busybody, not some government bureaucrat, and not some nanny statist.

So why can’t we do what we want with our own bodies?

Not so says the government. We are entitled to a cut of the fruits of your labor. And the more successful you are, the more we will take from you. We are in the business of spending money on boondoggles and redistributing money from those who work to those who don’t, filtered, of course, through our large and inefficient bureaucracy.

If a man owns his own body then surely he can take his own life if he wishes? He can buy a quantity of pills to swallow that will render him unconscious and stop his heart in order to end his suffering from pain, disability, disease, depression, or anguish.

Not so says the government. If you try to commit suicide and fail, we will involuntarily commit you to the mental ward of your local hospital. We will limit your ability to purchase drugs by requiring a doctor to write you a prescription.

I can’t help but concluding that, as far as the state is concerned, we don’t really own our own bodies at all. We live, move, and have our being at the behest of the state.