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Death is an awkward subject at the best of times, let alone when a pandemic reminds everyone it is their common destiny.

The moral questions about what the risk of death compels the living to do about it are not exactly new. They are as old as philosophy and religion. But they do feel unfamiliar as they rise with such urgency as a matter of life and death public policy.

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A letter was shared widely last week from a Michigan hospital, for example, outlining its triage criteria for intensive care, making clear that other conditions such as cancer, heart disease or trauma could make a patient “not eligible” for intensive care or mechanical ventilation.

“Patients who have the best chance of getting better are our first priority,” read the public letter from Henry Ford Health System.

Soon after, the Toronto Star reported details of a similar triage protocol for Ontario, a last resort system with several escalating levels, in which patients could be disqualified from ICU based on their likelihood of dying anyway, either of COVID-19 or their other illnesses.