(Pew Research Center) Hospitals have had to make difficult decisions as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds. In the U.S. and elsewhere, questions at the intersection of medicine and morality have arisen, such as who should receive critical care if medical resources are in short supply.
Among the dilemmas that came up as the U.S. raced to increase its supply of ventilators was the question of who should be given priority if some hospitals do not have enough ventilators for all patients who need help breathing. Should it be patients who need the ventilators most at the time, even if that means more lives overall are lost? Or patients with the highest chance of recovery, even if that means some people are denied potentially life-saving care based on their age or health status?
Americans are split on this question, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. And there are stark differences in opinion based on respondents’ religious affiliation and how religious they are.