The Pros And Cons Of The Hippocratic Oath

The most famous ethical work—although the exact origin of the text is unknown—is the Hippocratic Oath. In eight paragraphs, those swearing the oathpledge to “keep [patients] from harm and injustice.” The oath also requires physicians to give their loyalty and support to their fellow physicians, promise to apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick, refuse to provide abortion or euthanasia (the act of assisting a chronically ill person to die), and swear not to make improper sexual advances against any members of the household. “In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art,” concludes one section of the oath. For most of the 20th century, it was common for modified versions of the Hippocratic Oath to be recited by medical students upon the awarding of their degrees. For many people, the oath still symbolizes a physician’s duties and obligations.

The idea of ethical conduct is common in many early texts, including those from ancient Persia, Arabia, India and China. Echoing the Hippocratic Oath, the CarakaSamhita, a Sanskrit text written in India roughly 2,000 years ago, urges the following commandment to physicians, “Day and night, however you may be engaged, you shall strive for the relief of the patient with all your heart and soul. You shall not desert the patient even for the sake of

One of the best-known works from the period is Medical Ethics; or, a Code of Institutes and Precepts, Adapted to the Professional Conduct of Physicians and Surgeons, published in 1803 by the British physician Thomas Percival. In his 72 precepts, Percival urged a level of care and attention such that doctors would “inspire the minds of their patients with gratitude, respect, and confidence.” His ethics, however, also permitted withholding the truth from a patient if the truth might be “deeply injurious to himself, to his family, and to the