The author of the quote was referring to the idea that while everyone has the right to do whatever they want with themselves, it isn’t always right to do so, especially when those actions could negatively impact others or society as a whole. Ethics involves knowing how far you can take your rights before they cross into what’s considered wrong.
According to this ethical dilemma, there is an identifiable discrepancy. What one has a right to do does not always equate with what would be considered moral or just.
This statement can apply in various situations such as health care where most laws governing the industry were passed before recent advances in medical technology had been invented. For example, doctors are bound by law to prioritize the welfare of their patient’s life over those who are already dead; even though they are technically allowed to use any resources available to save a patient’s life. The disparity arises when trying to answer whether a doctor should use an expensive resource for someone who will not survive the procedure rather than for another patient whose chances of survival are higher. The decision that was made by lawmakers based on scarce resources at the time may not necessarily be moral now that medicine has advanced so much. Ethics is concerned with understanding the nuances in all aspects of decision-making. |