What is Crowdfunding?
Crowdfunding according to Miriam Webster is the
practice of soliciting financial contributions from a large number of people
especially from the online community. Wikipedia defines it as the practice of funding a project or
venture by raising monetary contributions from a large number of people,
typically via the internet. There are a couple articles that I have read
on-line discussing the ethical issue of crowdfunding. The go-fund-me sites and other crowdfunding medical
campaigns pose ethical dilemmas. Even an Ethicist, Mr. Jeremy
Snyder says crowdfunding lacks transparency, only gives voice to a
few people. Some online
crowdfunding site like “GoFundMe” and “YouCaring”
are becoming a popular way to help pay unexpected medical bills when the health-care system doesn't
cover the costs.
Lynn Hume, of
Burnaby, B.C., thought she would give it a try and set up a crowdfunding
campaign after she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer last
year. She turned to the site with the goal of raising $30,000 to help her
through her treatment while she is unable to work. "I set up my campaign,
and then I waited. Nothing happened, and then everything started happening when
I actually copied the link to my two sisters, and that's when they shared the
link on their Facebook. "They emailed it to their colleagues and their
clients and all of a sudden all of these donations flooded in, and so I know
I'm going to be OK now."
From
an ethics perspective, on the surface, there's nothing wrong
with crowdfunding for medical reasons, says Jeremy Snyder, a
professor in the faculty of health sciences at Simon Fraser University. "In
principle it's not a bad thing. It's just another way for people who are
looking for some help to raise money to get medical treatment or whatever else
they might need." But also stated that he worries about
how susceptible the system is to abuse. Fraud is always a possibility, he
said, though he doesn't believe that's widespread.
There
is also the case of a 21 year old transgender woman named Jaclyn Mae who turned to the Internet and the goodwill of
strangers in hopes of funding her decision to go through with a gender
reassignment surgery. "Help save a transgirl's life!" reads Mae's
online crowdfunding page, which has raised $300 so far. Mae's appeal is just
one of dozens of online pleas for money to help support trans men and women
with the medical and other costs of their transition so they can physically
present themselves, not as the gender they were born into, but as the gender
with which they identify. Gender reassignment surgery cost different for each
sex. For women becoming transmen, the basic procedures include surgical removal
of the vagina (vaginectomy) and construction of a penis (phalloplasty), which
can total $100,000. The men becoming transwomen, there is a surgery to remove
testicles (orchiectomy) and create female genitals (labiaplasty), which may
total $75,000. Then there is the Adam’s apple removal, breast augmentation,
hair removal, a lot of out of pocket expenses still required even after the
major sex organ surgery.
Some
may think that this is wrong because it goes against nature. After all, we were
either born with a male or female body it means that we were intended to be
that way and should not be changed. The ethical consideration in this case
depends on what kind of desires and values are involved. Is it right, is it
human choice to change what God made us to be?
Reference:
Almanac, B. (2015,
February 4). GoFundMe and other crowdfunding medical campaigns pose ethical
dilemma - British Columbia - CBC News. Retrieved April 18, 2015, from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/gofundme-and-other-crowdfunding-medical-campaigns-pose-ethical-dilemma-1.2945002
The Bay Area Reporter
Online |. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2015, from http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=70515
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