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Tim Pham
Mrs. Housepian
English 2H; Period 5
22 January 2015
The Possible Effects of Good Samaritan Laws
To help or not to help, that is the question. People in society today are highly influenced
by the bystander effect, unless prompted to, they will either walk away or stand and watch a
problem occur instead of lending a hand. Silver believes that it is unethical to not have laws that
require people to help others in need of assistance, as people stand around and do nothing in
problematic situations. Those who dont support others in need of assistance when they are in a
position that enables them to easily lend a hand or those who dont feel obligated to even
attempt to call the ambulance should be punished.
Individuals who are in a position to assist others in distress that decide to stand by and
spectate from the sidelines instead should be punished. Within their argument, Allred and Bloom
claim that, ..if someone is choking on a chicken bone in a restaurant, not only are other patrons
not required to give the Heimlich maneuver, call an ambulance, or do CPR, but in fact the other
patrons could, without violating any law, even dance around the gasping victim (Allred and
Bloom 4). By law, bystanders are not required to help others that are suffering, it is up to the
individual to decide. Not only will this law save lives, which is a major pro, but it doesnt require
much effort to be put in in most situations, such as one where someone is choking, as many
people are physically fit enough to lend a hand. Accordingly, in Good Samaritans U.S.A. Are
Afraid to Act, Sjoerdsma comes up with an event that could possibly occur in real life: A man
could sit on a dock, smoke a cigar,and watch a person drown without risking and civil or criminal
liability (Sjoerdsma 10). People are allowed to do absolutely nothing as someone is dying in
front of them as there is no law which will punish them. With the implementation of a Good
Samaritan law, an event like this would never take place as people will feel obligated to put in

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effort to save the person. If the person is not physically fit enough to lend a hand, they could
easily call for help from those around them or call the police. Because there is no law regarding
it, as person can essentially just watch someone else die, with the implementation of Good
Samaritan laws, this would no longer be a problem.
Good Samaritan laws should be enforced so that people will feel obligated to actually
help. To wrap up her article, Sjoerdsma concludes that, For americans, moral conscience, not
legal duty, remains the best guide to emergency aid (Sjoerdsma 21). Americans will not do
anything to help unless theyre prompted to or unless their assistance is beneficial to
themselves. With the implementation of Good Samaritan laws that punish those who wont help,
Americans will start lending a hand to those who need it, as theyll be willing to obey the law.
Likewise, during Silvers argument, he raises Did discrimination play a role? (Silver 3). Race
might be a factor when people decide if they want to help others. With the Good Samaritan laws
in place, race will no longer be a problem as people will feel obligated to help, due to the fact
that people will not go against the law to follow their beliefs. If good Samaritan laws are
enforced, people who wouldnt have thought of helping others before will now help, as they will
be punished by the law if they choose not to.
People will not help others depending on who needs the help or when they easily can,
because of this, we must enforce Good Samaritan laws. Humans will generally never help
others unless it is beneficial to themselves, with laws in place and punishments that come with
them, this will push people to help others.