Medical Ethics: Current Controversies

Like nearly all professions, the medical industry has unscrupulous practitioners. However, most doctors, whether in Western or Eastern nations, adhere to basic codes of ethics. For doctors who have been trained in the Western tradition, the two most important codes are the Hippocratic Oath---including its modern version---and Thomas Percival's Code of Medical Ethics. The Greek doctor Hippocrates developed the first code in the fifth century b.c. The traditional text asks doctors to make this vow:
I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgement and never do harm to anyone. To please no one will I prescribe a deadly drug nor give advice which may cause his death. Nor will I give a woman a pessary [suppository] to procure abortion. But I will preserve the purity of my life and my art. I will not cut for stone, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest; I will leave this operation to be performed by practitioners, specialists in this art. In every house where I come I will enter only for the good of my patients, keeping myself far from all intentional ill-doing and all seduction and especially from the pleasures of love with women or with men, be they free or slaves.
This oath has of course changed somewhat in modern times. An updated version of the oath was written in 1964 by the academic dean of the school of medicine at Tufts University and is used in many medical schools.
The Western interpretation of medical ethics is not the only kind in use today. Chinese medical ethics has developed over several thousand years and many feel that its teachings, which emphasize care and respect for patients, are worth incorporating into Western ethics.
Chinese medical professionals must follow six basic rules: use all means available to help the dying and wounded; practice medicine with honesty; constantly work on improving medical skills; behave politely; treat all patients equally; and do not be arrogant or disrespectful of other people's achievements.
Chinese medical ethics actually predate the Confucian era. Still, it was the Chinese philosopher Confucius (c. 551--479 b.c.) whose teachings, which emphasized ethics, helped form the underpinnings for medical ethics in that nation.
At their core Confucian medical ethics are about love and benevolence---doctors show love for their patients by healing them. Doctors further exhibit these noble feelings by neither disrespecting nor causing harm to their patients and by treating patients equally regardless of wealth or social status.
In more recent years, however, Chinese medical ethics have moved away from a strict Confucian interpretation. Chinese doctors are now influenced by Western medical practices. So too are Western doctors learning from the teachings of Confucius. In many ways these two versions of medical ethics are not so different; the well-being of the patients is of primary concern. The growing popularity of "alternative" treatments common to China---notably, acupuncture and herbal remedies---in Western nations shows the intertwining of Western and Eastern medicine.