system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
If another 9/11-like scenario occurred, would it be ethical to prevent people who aren't properly equipped for the environment from searching for survivors?

It seems as though the price in suffering, lives, and resources was only made worse by rescue efforts following the tragedy.
gpt
I think it's fairly common (e.g. Kagan, 1998) to think that even if there is normally an obligation to rescue someone in danger, this obligation becomes much lesser if rescuing them poses a large risk to oneself. The real complication here is the aspect of prevention. This would involve questions of whether it's moral to stop an autonomous person from doing something harmful to themselves (paternalism). The fact that what they are trying to do is morally heroic may make this even more problematic. The answer will come down to what sorts of ethical foundations are guiding your judgments about these matters, most likely.