Abstract

The topicality in times of pandemic of the considerations contained in «Tragic Choices», which begin with the dichotomy between «first-instance» and «second-instance » decisions, revives the debate on the role of the state and its relationship to the market, as well as on the link between science and law and on the appropriateness of legalising medical activity. After a brief introduction to the historical development of triage and the ethical basis of the criteria for resource allocation, attention will be paid to the decision of the Bundesverfassungsgericht (German Federal Constitutional Court) regarding the risk of discrimination against persons with disabilities in case of triage, which most recently led to the enactment of a triage law and touch on important bioethical, biolegal and biopolitical issues