Facebook Publication Date: 4/11/2020 8:04

From Amy Elliott Van Steenwyk:

This brief article does a decent job of outlining a couple theories that doctors turn to when choosing how to prioritize care. “Physicians need to know that if they choose to give the ventilator to the Black woman – or if our guidelines provided to them reflect this value – there is an ethical argument to defend this choice. There is nothing ‘correct’ about the ‘save the most lives’ argument; it is just one of many ethically defensible options and need not be followed rigidly. Our guidelines and algorithms for doctors on the frontlines should be clear about this.

In my opinion, what defines a ‘fair’ resource allocation choice? It is one that considers not just the number of lives saved, but also what is behind those lives. Being fair about where our efforts go and not being biased based on a deluded notion that we are all starting out on a level playing field. Our two patients outlined above did not start off on a level playing field at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. They didn’t walk into the hospital on a level playing field, nor were they even born with equal opportunities. Fair allocation choices take this into account.”

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