(Correspondence) Should doctors feel able to practise according to their personal values and beliefs?

Murat Civaner

The Medical Journal of Australia
The Medical Journal of Australia

Extract
The moral problem related to defining a space for personal values in medical care is that they may conflict with professional values, legitimising discrimination. Then it would be nearly impossible to criticise doctors and institutions that refuse abortion, do not examine patients of the opposite sex on religious grounds, and refuse to operate on HIV-positive patients or to treat people with different political affiliations. It would be hard to call that kind of environment a “healthy diversity”.


Civaner M. (Correspondence) Should doctors feel able to practise according to their personal values and beliefs?. Med J Aust. 2012 Feb 06;196(2):109.