Ethics in Healthcare
At the time of Mr. Speaker’s quarantine, the information available was that he was suffering from an untreatable form of drug resistant tuberculosis. With this in mind, the most prudent action to take was to isolate him in a ward and conduct further tests to confirm the diagnosis. This particular strain of TB is infectious and untreatable; any effort to control its spread should be the biggest concern of any public health officer. Isolating him was also beneficiary for Mr. Speaker because he would have been put on treatment had the subsequent test confirmed the initial diagnosis. His autonomy and freedoms as a person were suspended for the greater good of the public. The move was therefore necessary for both the patient and the general health interest of the public.
Ethically speaking, the CDC reacts to public health issues based on the information already available. The key is to take precaution and guard against any risk before it actually occurs (Harris, 2007, p. 12). In isolating Mr. Speaker, the CDC was reacting to the situation base on the suspicion that he had the drug resistant strain of TB. In the interest of protecting the public from exposure to the bacteria, this move was necessary until further tests confirmed the initial fears or as in this case, dismissed them as wrong. The decision to quarantine him was guided by the need to protect the rest of the public from exposure which is one of the roles of CDC. It was also to conduct further tests and justify the need to quarantine him or otherwise have proof that he is disease free and therefore safe to the public.
The outrage by the public was brought about by the fact that the CDC is expected to protect the public from exposure to such dangerous infections (Edge, 2010, p. 84). They had a right to sue because it is assumed that such an individual should not be allowed to mingle freely with the rest of the people because of their infectious disease (Tong, 2009, p. 63). The fact that Mr. Savage was able to fly to another country to get married pointed to negligence on the part of CDC. The only saving grace for the CDC is that after conducting tests, the results came back negative for drug resistant TB. People take their health seriously and would not like to imagine that they have been exposed to a grave health risk due to negligence on the part of concerned authorities.
References
Harris, D. (2007). Contemporary Issues in Healthcare Law and Ethics. New Jersey: Health
Edge, R. (2010). Ethics of Health Care. London: Cengage
Tong, R. (2009). New Perspectives in Healthcare Ethics. New York: Prentice Hall
