Disability discrimination in emergencies: The return of Taurek?

Abstract

John Taurek famously advocates an unpopular view in ethics: when deciding whom to rescue, the numbers don’t count. We should instead give everyone the same chance of surviving by choosing at random. Surprisingly little engagement has taken place between the detailed and rich literature on whether the numbers count in rescue cases, and the practical question of whether certain facts about patients are eligible for consideration in real-world prioritisation, e.g., in emergency triage during a pandemic. I suggest that a position close to Taurek’s maps on to real-world arguments by groups representing disabled individuals. Whereas Taurek is focused on equalising survival chances, some disability rights activists and scholars appear to argue in favour of equalising selection chances. I construct an argument in favour of this position by appealing to the idea of “opacity respect”. I then consider the implications of this approach for broader principles of affirmative action in healthcare.