Obligation, supererogation and moral ideals (the duty to treat in epidemics)
- Topic
Some acts are required; others, heroic or generous, go beyond duty. In an epidemic, how much risk must a doctor accept?
What it is
Supererogation is the technical name for acts that go «beyond the call of duty»: they are morally good and admirable, but not required, and not doing them is no wrong. J. O. Urmson (Saints and Heroes, 1958) showed that the classic division of acts into obligatory, permitted and forbidden leaves out saints and heroes. Moral ideals are goals of excellence that are admired but not demanded. In medicine, the practical question is where obligation ends: in an epidemic, is the doctor obliged to treat contagious patients at risk to their own life? The World Health Organization (2016) answers that certain professionals, such as doctors and nurses, have a duty to accept some risk because of their profession, but that this duty is not unlimited and depends on society meeting its reciprocal obligations to them.
Key facts
- WHO separates those with a professional duty to accept risk (doctors, nurses) from other workers whose risk-taking is supererogatory (for example, volunteers without social protection).
- Factors limiting the duty according to WHO: whether reciprocal obligations are met, the proportion between risks and benefits, and the worker's other duties, such as to family.
- Society's reciprocal obligations: reducing the risk of infection (training, information and protective equipment), fair pay and support if the worker falls ill.
- For those who do not take part, WHO considers fines or imprisonment, beyond employment consequences, generally unwarranted.
- The WMA (International Code of Medical Ethics, 2022, para. 9) says the physician should provide help in medical emergencies.
Structure
- Obligatory: what is demanded of every doctor (treating emergencies, not abandoning the patient).
- Supererogatory: the admirable act that is not demanded (volunteering in a high-risk area without protection).
- Moral ideal: the excellence that inspires the profession and is cultivated, but not sanctioned when missing.
- Limits: the professional duty has a ceiling, set by proportionality and reciprocity.
In clinical practice
- In an outbreak with protective equipment available, treating contagious patients is part of the professional duty.
- If there is no protection or training, the institution fails first; demanding serious risk from staff is unjust.
- A doctor with a condition that greatly raises their risk can be reassigned to lower-exposure tasks without failing in their duty.
- Staying extra hours, without being required to, so that a dying patient is not alone is a supererogatory act: admirable, not demandable.
Legal framework in Colombia
- Law 23 of 1981, art. 3: the doctor provides the benefits of medicine to everyone who needs them, with no limits other than those of the law.
- Law 23 of 1981, art. 7: outside emergencies, the doctor may decline to treat only for concrete reasons (not their specialty, another professional is treating, the patient refuses the instructions).
- Political Constitution, art. 95, item 2: everyone has a duty to act in line with social solidarity and respond with humanitarian action to situations that endanger people's life or health.
- Official texts checked on 2026-11-13 in the Función Pública Gestor Normativo.
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
What is a supererogatory act?
A morally good act that goes beyond duty: it is admired if done, but not doing it is no wrong.
According to WHO, does a doctor have an unlimited duty to accept risk in an epidemic?
No. They have a duty to accept some risk because of their profession, but it depends on reciprocity, proportionality and their other obligations.
What reciprocal obligations does society have towards frontline workers?
Reducing the risk of infection through training, information and protective equipment, paying them fairly and supporting them if they fall ill.
Can a doctor in Colombia decline to treat an emergency?
No. Law 23 of 1981 (art. 7) allows declining only outside emergencies and for concrete reasons.
Elsewhere in DurgiPedia
Connections
Educational content on ethics and health law; not legal advice. Laws and case law change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, read the text in force and ask a lawyer or the medical ethics tribunal.
Sources: Supererogation (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2024); Guidance for managing ethical issues in infectious disease outbreaks (World Health Organization, 2016); WMA International Code of Medical Ethics (World Medical Association, 2022); Ley 23 de 1981, por la cual se dictan normas en materia de ética médica (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 1981); Constitución Política de Colombia 1991 (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 1991).
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