Which option does not illustrate the principle that rights and duties are correlative?

Which option does not illustrate the principle that rights and duties are correlative?

• A. The right to free speech corresponds to the duty to respect others
• B. The right to due process corresponds to the duty to follow school rules
• C. The right of an unmarried pregnant teacher to abort her baby in relation to her duty to protect her name and her job as a teacher
• D. The right to privacy corresponds to the duty to disclose personal information

Answer: (C)

Rights and duties are correlative: when someone has a right, others have a duty to respect that right, and when there is a duty, it typically supports or creates a corresponding right for someone else. The pairing in everyday contexts tends to be clear and socially recognizable. The option about abortion mixes a private medical decision with a professional consequence in a way that doesn’t form a standard, reciprocal duty-right relationship. A person’s right to make medical decisions does not cleanly translate into a duty for others to protect that person’s name and job as a direct correlative. In contrast, the other scenarios fit the familiar pattern: a right to free speech comes with a duty for others to respect that speech; a right to due process exists so the school must treat someone fairly within the rules, and privacy rights involve appropriate handling of personal information. Because the third scenario lacks a coherent correlative duty that supports the right in a social or institutional context, it is the one that does not illustrate the principle.

Rights and duties are correlative: when someone has a right, others have a duty to respect that right, and when there is a duty, it typically supports or creates a corresponding right for someone else. The pairing in everyday contexts tends to be clear and socially recognizable.

The option about abortion mixes a private medical decision with a professional consequence in a way that doesn’t form a standard, reciprocal duty-right relationship. A person’s right to make medical decisions does not cleanly translate into a duty for others to protect that person’s name and job as a direct correlative. In contrast, the other scenarios fit the familiar pattern: a right to free speech comes with a duty for others to respect that speech; a right to due process exists so the school must treat someone fairly within the rules, and privacy rights involve appropriate handling of personal information. Because the third scenario lacks a coherent correlative duty that supports the right in a social or institutional context, it is the one that does not illustrate the principle.