Healthcare Ethics
Background
The field of public health is interested in securing the greatest benefits for the most people and often uses public health laws and statutes to do so.
Public health laws are any laws that have important consequences for the health of defined populations.
They derive from federal and state constitutions; statutes, and other legislative enactments; agency rules and regulations; judicial rulings and case law; and policies of public bodies.
The overwhelming majority of public health interventions are intended to benefit the whole population, without knowingly harming individuals or groups.
That said, public health authorities often recommend paternalistic interventions such as mandatory seat belt or motorcycle helmet laws.
Public Health reasons the sacrifice asked of individuals is relatively minimal and the communal benefits substantial.
In the public health model, individual interests in autonomy, privacy, and liberty are taken seriously, but they do not invariably trump community health benefits.
Instructions
Review the web links below.
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2014/10/30/360120406/awful-moments-in-quarantine-history-remember-typhoid-mary
http://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/aboutlawsregulationsquarantineisolation.html
1. Discuss the delicate balance of public health protection versus individual liberty (i.e., personal rights and free will).
2. Suppose a public health policy, such as quarantine, violates an individual’s liberty.
Do you believe it must satisfy all of the justificatory conditions (i.e., effectiveness, necessity, least infringement, proportionality, impartiality, public justification) in order to be considered ethically acceptable?
3. Why or why not? Defend your position.