Does Law Impose a Certain Code of Morality? Examples from Medical and Nursing Practice and Health Policy

Venetia Sofia E. Velonaki, Martha E. Velonaki, Georgios I. Kampouroglou

The fact that dictates of law and those of morality will often coincide is widely acceptable. However, the question whether law exists or should exist to impose one particular code of morality or not may receive many different responses. Following these two concepts over different cases and scenes in the health care sector leads to the conclusion that this question could not receive a curt answer. Law should be parallel to human morality to an extent. But, morality has a subjective dimension. The common content of morality within a community is the basis for the community’s legal framework. Even when law does not impose morality directly, it may refer to morality indirectly, referring for example to morals or to morality, to good faith, to bona fide and the like. Arguments and examples in this article establish the opinion that law is asked to apply morality to an extent, but this should not be used to supplant communal norms, cultural or religious beliefs, mainly when these sides of morality are not contrary to the universally common morality.