The Price of Professional Integrity—Ethics of the Physician-Patient Relationship

Abstract

Historically, the science of medicine has met a great deal of social rejection, if not outright hostility. Through the years physicians have had to maintain a delicate balance between the norms and values established by societies and the dictates of their own conscience of what constitutes the best interest of their patients. Confronted by the dilemma of facing social ostracism or defying their duties as stated in the Hippocratic oath to be “bound by a stipulation and oath according to the law of medicine, but to none others (Information for Research on Euthanasia, 2003)”, physicians have often faced difficult ethic quandaries. It is a hotly debated issue whether the duty of physicians is to assess every individual case and act solely according to their own best judgment or act in line with the rigid norms and social structures imposed by the community. Issues such as euthanasia, abortion and organ transplantation present the very essence of this controversial bioethical debate.