You might think that I'm joking when I say that we need cyborg rights to be codified into law, but I honestly think that, given the pace of development of medical implants and the rights issues raised by having proprietary technologies becoming part of a human body, I think that this is absolutely essential for bodily autonomy, disability rights, and human rights more generally. This has already become an issue, and it will only become a larger issue moving forwards.
No but seriously we need cyborg rights, in case you don't know how many people count as cyborgs here are some examples;
- People with cochlear implants are cyborgs
- People with pacemakers are cyborgs
- People with insulin pumps are cyborgs
There are even edge cases revolving around how much electricity and integration into the body are necessary to make someone a cyborg.
- People with replacement hips or other bones are by some definitions cyborgs
- People with implanted medical devices such as artificial valves or stents are by some definitions cyborgs
- People with prosthetic limbs are by some definitions cyborgs
- People with ostomy bags are by some definitions cyborgs
- People in wheel chairs, electric or not, are by some definitions cyborgs
The list could go on but I think I made my point that cyborgs are a lot more than just people with robot arms, they are the disabled deserving of the rights to the technology their lives literally depend on.
This is needed.
Earlier this year, a woman was forcibly deprived of a brain implant that was treating her epilepsy because the company that made the implant went bankrupt. Here's a link to one of several articles about it:












