Ancient oath bans abortion and euthanasia
Some senior Italian doctors have called for the Hippocratic Oath, which all doctors take at the beginning of their career, to be scrapped. "There are passages which are no longer relevant to our times and which newly qualified doctors know in advance they will not be able to respect," Giorgio Ianetti, a professor of surgery at Rome University, told a conference. He was referring to the ancient oath’s ban on abortion and euthanasia. Some of his colleagues disagreed. The head of surgery at the same university, Luigi Frati, contended that the 4th century BC oath "reminds new doctors of certain fundamental concepts… They feel they belong to a scientific community with a long tradition." ~ London Times, Dec 11

Ancient oath bans abortion and euthanasia

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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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