Public health needs its own ethical values

ABSTRACT

Public health ethics is guided by a core value the defense of the common good, which may, in certain circumstances, conflict with the respect for individual freedom. The management of contagious infectious diseases in general, and the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in particular offer many examples of this ethical clash. Both victim and vector of the disease, the contagious patient must benefit from the best possible care and at the same time accept a duty of solidarity towards those he may infect. If, however, in certain circumstances, health constraints can be imposed on citizens in order to protect the common good, these coercive measures should be guided by clear ethical benchmarks. First of all, the threat for which we seek protection, must be significant and realistic. Secondly, the coercive measures put in place must have proven their effectiveness. Thirdly, the inconveniences linked to these measures must be proportional to the expected benefits and the targeted threat. Finally, the measures must be as least restrictive as possible.