n. treating individuals differently on the basis of morally insignificant characteristics, such as race, sex, or religion. In medicine, any discrimination of this kind (e.g. when deciding on treatments or allocating resources) offends against the ethical principle of *justice. Legally, discrimination can be direct (i.e. overtly differentiating between people and groups) or indirect (i.e. behaviour that will disproportionately affect particular people or some groups more than others). See also equality; stigma.
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