Theorem: Body Ownership is Inalienable
Axioms / Principles
Principle of Equal Powers (PEP): Any ability given to one person must, by fairness, be given to all.
Types of Abilities:
Among the abilities covered by PEP are:
a. The ability to determine truth.
b. The ability to determine moral truth.
c. The ability to determine what counts as sufficient justification.
Definition of Ownership: To own X means no one else may rightfully remove X from the owner.
Proof Step 1. Consider body ownership.
There are two possible assignments of ability:
Case A: A person has the ability to decide when others lose body ownership.
Case B: A person does not have that ability.
Step 2. Suppose Case A is true.
Then, by PEP, if one person can decide a justification for stripping body ownership, all people must have the same ability.
Step 3. If all people can decide what counts as sufficient justification, then:
For any reason whatsoever, anyone could declare another person’s body ownership void.
Since this ability is universal, everyone can simultaneously void everyone else’s ownership.
Step 4. If everyone can void everyone else’s ownership, then secure body ownership does not exist.
Contradiction: “ownership” cannot exist if no one can securely hold it (by Axiom 3).
Step 5. Therefore, Case A is impossible.
Step 6. By elimination, only Case B remains: no one has the ability to decide when others lose body ownership.
Step 7. From Case B, it follows that body ownership is inalienable: each person necessarily owns their own body, and this cannot be revoked by others.
Corollary: Application to Trans Kids
Ownership of one’s body includes authority to decide what to do with it, including medical choices. Denying a trans child the right to make medical decisions about their body would mean granting others the ability to decide when body ownership can be overridden. By the proof above, such a power cannot be selectively granted; if granted at all, it must be universal, which destroys ownership. Therefore, denying trans kids’ medical decisions on body ownership grounds is logically impossible.