Siena College Taytay

CHAPTER IV:
College of Nursing THE NATURE OF
RIGHTS IN ETHICAL DISCLOSURE

 A Right is describe as entitlements, interests, powers, claim and needs and is

desirable and beneficial.
Right in moral philosophy and political theory are thought of as justified claims.
A Right creates an obligation in others to behave in a certain way, to either provide
goods or services or refrain from interference.

 Correlative obligations- Obligations that cannot exist without the other e.g. law,
obligation, right and duty,

 Historical Background of Rights Reasoning (Started during the Middle Ages)

Natural rights are generally equated to the law of God and found as brief expression
in the form of Golden Rule and was synonymously used by Thomas Paine with
human rights
Negative Rights- Obligate others from interference
Positive Rights- Claims to good and services
Key concepts drawn from historical traditions of natural law:
Humans possess a rational nature as gift from God
Natural laws are not dependent upon social contract
Natural laws are effect natural rights does not distinguish them
Natural laws can be discovered even without knowledge of God

 Contractarian and Consequentialist Rights Theory

John Stuart Mill mentioned in his utilitarian view that “we do not call anything wrong
unless we mean to imply that a person ought to be punished in some way or another
for doing it; if not by law , by the opinion of his fellow creatures, if not by opinion then
by the reproaches of his own conscience.

OBLIGATION - The requirement to do what is imposed by law, promise, or contract; a

duty. In its general and most extensive sense, obligation is synonymous with duty.
Imperfect obligations are those which are not binding on us as between man
and man, and for the non-performance of which we are accountable to God only; such
as charity or gratitude. In this sense an obligation is a mere duty.
A perfect obligation is one which gives a right to another to require us to give
him something or not to do something. These obligations are either natural or moral, or
they are civil.

 A natural or moral obligation is one which cannot be enforced by action, but which
is binding on the party who makes it, in conscience and according to natural justice. As
for instance, when the action is barred by the act of limitation, a natural obligation is
extinguished. Although natural obligations cannot be enforeed by action, they have the
following effect: 1. No suit will lie to recover back what has been paid, or given in
compliance with a natural obligation. A natural obligation is a sufficient consideration
for a new contract.

 Fair Opportunity Rule

Edge R. and Groves J. R. (1999) Ethics of Health Care: A guide for Clinical Practice. C & E
Publishing Inc.
San Juan Metro Manila. 2nd Edition. pp. 55-68
 Siena College Taytay
CHAPTER IV:
College of Nursing THE NATURE OF
RIGHTS IN ETHICAL DISCLOSURE

No person should receive goods and services on the basis of undeserved advantage
nor be denied good and service on the basis of an undeserved disadvantage.
Contractarians believe that individual rights are grounded in the principle of justice and
collective choice and it is this collective choice that forms the basis of morality.

 Legal Rights are not only asserted as moral prerogatives, but afforded governmental
guarantees. Legal rights are created through constitutional guarantees, legislative
statutes, judicial review, and governmental agencies.

Edge R. and Groves J. R. (1999) Ethics of Health Care: A guide for Clinical Practice. C & E
Publishing Inc.
San Juan Metro Manila. 2nd Edition. pp. 55-68