Reciprocity and Resources
Reciprocity has been deployed as the moral concept underpinning an obligation to ensure that health care workers (HCW) who work during a pandemic have access to essential goods, such as personal protective equipment (PPE), and as a principle for giving priority to HCW for scarce resources, such as i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Michigan Publishing Services
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Journal of Practical Ethics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/jpe/article/id/1519/ |
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| Summary: | Reciprocity has been deployed as the moral concept underpinning an obligation to ensure that health care workers (HCW) who work during a pandemic have access to essential goods, such as personal protective equipment (PPE), and as a principle for giving priority to HCW for scarce resources, such as intensive care beds or ventilators. In this paper I examine the concept of reciprocity, arguing that it is best understood as a form of fairness, or “fair return for services rendered.” This interpretation works well in explaining our obligation to provide HCW with PPE and other risk-mitigation resources, but I give reasons to suggest that it does not support an obligation to prioritize HCW for scarce medical interventions. |
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| ISSN: | 2051-655X |