Youngest first? Why it’s wrong to discriminate against the elderly in healthcare

Age in the Time of COVID-19: An Ethical Analysis

“…Another argument favoring the discrimination of the elderly, which has appeared from time to time in the literature, is represented by the fact that they are sometimes willing to be deprioritized when the resources are scarce [ 10 , 20 ]. Such an example has recently reached the media outlets - an elderly priest (Don Guiseppe Berardelli), had requested to be removed from the ventilator, to allow its use to treat a younger patient (USA Today).…”

“…Another argument supporting the prioritization of resources toward the young has been represented by the willingness of elderly patients to “take a back seat” [ 20 ]. This approach might be caused by them internalizing some arguments about the prioritization of the younger patients, to which they do not actually relate to [ 10 , 20 ].…”

Respect for vulnerability is a human right: Article 8 of the UNESCO Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, and senior citizens in South Africa

“…What could be put forward as the reason for the above-mentioned discrimination against the elderly despite the fact that the National Health Act does indeed want to promote respect for vulnerability? One of the most important reasons according to Wareham is the following: [3] 'The strongest basis for discriminating against the elderly is the principle that we should do the most good and provide the most benefit with the resources at our disposal. This common sense idea is related to the bioethical principle of beneficence and has a theoretical foundation in utilitarian ethical theory.…”

“…[1] In a recent scientific study, it has been pointed out that vulnerable elderly citizens are discriminated against in the health environment in South Africa (SA). [2] Wareham, who is on the academic staff of the Steve Biko Centre for Bioethics, has shown (based on a study project by the Community Law Centre of the University of the Western Cape) [3] that at the micro level, individual physicians refer elderly patients less frequently than other patients for more specialised (hospitalisation) and tertiary (speciality diagnosis and treatment) treatment. At the meso level of hospital care and practitioner policy, it also frequently occurs that training for geriatric care is not prioritised.…”

“…Individuals and groups of special vulnerability should be protected and the personal integrity of such individuals respected.' [3] The UDBHR is to my mind one of the most important instruments in the development of human rights and bioethics, as the international community (191 member states) accepted it unanimously in 2005. This means the declaration was the first global political and bioethical text to which all the governments in the world, also SA, committed themselves.…”