Physicians play a critical role in preventing and treating firearm
injury, although the scope of that role remains contentious and lacks
systematic definition. This piece aims to utilize the fundamental principles
of medical ethics to present a framework for physician involvement in
firearm violence. Physicians' agency relationship with their patients
creates ethical obligations grounded on three principles of medical ethics —
patient autonomy, beneficence, and nonmaleficence. Taken together, they
suggest that physicians ought to engage in clinical screening and treatment
related to firearm violence. The principle of beneficence also applies more
generally, but more weakly, to relations between physicians and society,
creating nonobligatory moral ideals. Balanced against physicians' primary
obligations to patient agency relationships, general beneficence suggests
that physicians may engage in public advocacy to address gun violence,
although they are not ethically obligated to do so. A fourth foundational
principle — justice — requires that clinicians attempt to ensure that the
benefits and burdens of healthcare are distributed fairly.
The Hidden Mortality of Pediatric Firearm Violence
