Abstract

This chapter explores what it means to respect persons when scarce, life-saving resources (e.g., flu treatment) must be distributed. In different age cases, both an older person and a younger one need a scarce resource to survive, but we can save only one; in different number cases, we can use the resource either to save one person or to save five, but not to save everyone. The chapter applies three accounts of respect for the worth or dignity of persons to such cases: the Respect-Expression Approach to Kant’s Formula of Humanity, an Equal Worth Account, suggested by Jeff McMahan, and a Kant-Inspired Account of Dignity (KID). The chapter argues that KID has more plausible implications than the others. The chapter ends by contrasting KID with a benefit-maximizing view of the distribution of scarce resources—one that uses the Quality Adjusted Life-Year (QALY) as a measure of improvement in health-related quality of life.