The Case for Professional Disobedience

As the rule of law comes under assault by the very institutions meant to uphold and protect it, do doctors, lawyers, and other learned professionals have a duty to obey the law? Should they have a right to engage in disobedience to avoid complicity with injustice and societal harm? Increasing politicization and partiality of the American judiciary, rampant partisanship among politicians, and blatant violations of law by those in power continue to erode the rule of law and decimate civil rights and civil liberties in the process. These institutional failures include increasing encroachment upon professionals' ability to uphold the mission and core values of their profession. Who will save us when institutions fail? Using civil disobedience as a foundation, this Article develops the concept of "professional disobedience": the nonviolent and intentional defiance of the law by members of an established profession, based on the conviction that the law is antithetical to the ethical obligations of the profession. This Article uses healthcare professionals as a case study to explore what happens when a profession reaches its breaking point. In doing so, it provides a model for other professions to follow. After assessing the risks, benefits, and alternatives to professional disobedience, this Article proposes strategies to mitigate the personal, professional, and legal harms that may befall healthcare professionals who engage in professional disobedience. In doing so, it provides a model for other professions to follow as they seek to defend the mission of their profession and to promote justice, equity, and societal wellbeing.