Beyond the Call of Duty: Compelling Health Care Professionals to Work During an Influenza Pandemic

作者：Coleman Carl H^*

来源：Iowa Law Review, 2008, 94(1): 1-47.

In anticipation of pandemics and other mass disasters, several states have enacted little-known laws that authorize government officials to order health care professionals to work during declared public-health emergencies, even when doing so could pose life-threatening risks. Health care professionals who violate these orders could face substantial penalties, ranging from license revocations to fines and imprisonment. The penalties would apply even to individuals whose jobs do not normally involve clinical responsibilities, as well as to health care professionals who are retired or taking time off from work to care for their families. This Article argues that these laws impose burdens that exceed, the ethical commitments individuals make when they accept a Professional license. In so doing, they compel health care professionals to engage in what is normally considered supererogatory behavior-i.e., acts that are commendable if done voluntarily, but that go beyond what is expected.
In making this argument, the Article rejects commonly made assertions about health care professionals' ethical obligations, including the claim that health care professionals "assume the risk" of infection, that a "social contract" requires health care professionals to work despite potential health risks, and that individuals who have urgently needed skills have an obligation to use them. It concludes that, while it is legitimate to sanction health care professionals for violating voluntarily assumed. employment or contractual agreements, they should not be compelled to assume life-threatening risks based solely on their status as licensed professionals. In place of singling out health care professionals for punitive measures, the Article argues that policymakers should institute mechanisms to promote volunteerism.

• 出版日期2008-11