Against "Saving Lives": Equal Concern and Differential Impact

Richard Yetter Chappell

Against "Saving Lives": Equal Concern and Differential Impact

Philosophy

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Bioethicists often present "saving lives" as a goal distinct from, and competing with, that of extending lives by as much as possible. I argue that this usage of the term is misleading, and provides unwarranted rhetorical support for neglecting the magnitudes of the harms and benefits at stake in medical allocation decisions, often to the detriment of the young. Equal concern for all persons requires weighting equal interests equally, but not all individuals have an equal interest in "life-saving" treatment

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	159-164
Journal	Bioethics
Volume	30
Issue number	3
Early online date	1 Jul 2015
Publication status	Published - Mar 2016

Bibliographical note

© 2015, John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details

Access to Document

Chappell-SavingLives
© 2015, John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details
Accepted author manuscript, 234 KBLicence: Other

Cite this

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