Nancy Jecker

Drawing on recent bioethics literature on emerging infectious diseases, as well as the authors’ own previous analyses, this chapter addresses the ethical underpinnings of global health partnerships to combat emerging infectious disease. After an introduction to the topic, section “Introduction” proposes the twin ends of establishing structural justice and ensuring threshold human capabilities as key justice standards. It shows how these standards play a critical role in determining justice in global health partnerships. Section “Next Steps: Global Health Partnerships” illustrates these justice standards by applying them to the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Section “Conclusion” models multi-level global health partnerships that build-in justice considerations and proposes next steps for pandemic preparedness.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic, bioethical analyses often emphasized population health and societal benefit. Hospital policies frequently focused on reducing risk of transmitting SARS‐CoV‐2 by restricting visitors; requiring protective equipment; and screening staff, patients and visitors. While restrictions can be burdensome, they are often justified as essential measures to protect the whole population against a virus with high rates of transmission, morbidity and mortality. Yet communities are not monolithic, and the impacts of these restrictions affect different groups differently. An ophthalmological unit outreach program in Ethiopia serves to illustrate. Pre‐operative screening policies were designed to protect as many patients as possible but had adverse impacts on underserved communities. As this case study demonstrates, creating hospital policies that truly serve the good of the society may require a more holistic review of impacts on inequitably positioned communities.

This Commentary critiques an extremely relational view of robot moral status, drawing out its practical implications for ethics and law. It also suggests next steps for AI ethics if extremely relational reasoning is compelling. Section I introduces the topic, distinguishing an ‘extremely relational’ view from more moderate relational views. Section II illustrates extremely relational views using the example of embodiment. Section III explores practical implications of extremely relational views for ethics and law. Section IV offers possible responses to extreme relationism. Section V concludes by suggesting next steps for AI ethics.