Health - Medical association: Constitutional complaint against triage rule
Supported by the Marburger Bund medical association, 14 emergency and intensive care physicians have lodged a constitutional complaint against the German Infection Protection Act (IfSG).
As announced by the Marburger Bund, the complaint before the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe is directed against the so-called triage rule contained in the law in the event of bottlenecks in the care of seriously ill patients. According to the complainants, this rule "forces doctors to make borderline decisions that contradict their professional self-image and put them in blatant moral distress".
In the view of the complainants, the IfSG thereby violates the fundamental right to freedom of profession (Section 12 (1) of the German Basic Law) and freedom of conscience (Section 4 (1) Var. 2 of the German Basic Law). Triage means that if there are too few beds or ventilators, for example in a pandemic, doctors determine the order in which patients are treated first.
Specifically, the criticism is directed, among other things, against what the plaintiffs see as the ambiguous regulation of the allocation of limited treatment capacities. The vagueness of the entire procedure brings with it considerable legal uncertainty for the doctors obliged to make decisions, they say.
The ban on so-called ex-post triage is also criticized, according to which a decision to treat a patient once made may not be withdrawn if a patient is admitted at a later date who has a better chance of survival. The Marburger Bund sees this as a conflict with professional ethics: doctors are being deprived of the opportunity to save the greatest possible number of people in an emergency situation.
Read also:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
- Numerous oil, gas and coal lobbyists at climate conference
- The constitutional complaint against the triage rule in the Infection Protection Act (IfSG) is being led by the Medical Association in Baden-Württemberg, with the support of the Marburger Bund.
- The complaint, lodged before the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, challenges the triage rule, which doctors find morally distressing due to its potential impact on their professional self-image.
- Critics argue that the IfSG violates the fundamental right to freedom of profession and freedom of conscience by forcing doctors into ambiguous and ethically challenging decisions about patient care.
- The triage rule, in place to address potential resource shortages during a pandemic, has come under fire for its vague allocation of limited treatment capacities and ex-post triage ban, which some doctors feel restricts their ability to make the best use of resources in an emergency.
- The Justice Ministry in Germany has responded to the complaint, stating that the triage rule is necessary to ensure fair and equitable access to medical care in times of crisis.
- This constitutional complaint has sparked debate among the medical community and legal experts in Germany, as it raises important questions about the balance between individual rights and public health during a pandemic.
Source: www.stern.de
