Thursday, March 10, 2005

In Whom Do We Trust?

In the debate between pro-life and pro-choice, it has been discovered that our modern doctors may no longer take the Oath of Hippocrates, rather a modified version has become widely accepted. And someone noticed that the original Hippocratic Oath contains a statement in which a doctor would not use his medical education or degree to provide an abortion. So, the idea has been proposed to bring back the original Hippocratic Oath, thus removing the abortion prodecure from medical practice. I took the liberty to copy and paste the original oath and a portion of the modern oath. The modified version was written in 1964, and I don't know the time frame for the modified version to have replaced the original in use, but the entire baby boomer generation was delivered by a person that took the original oath and made their vow before the Greek gods and goddesses.

THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH
I swear by Apollo the physician, by Æsculapius, Hygeia, and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to keep according to my ability and my judgement, the following Oath.
"To consider dear to me as my parents him who taught me this art; to live in common with him and if necessary to share my goods with him; to look upon his children as my own brothers, to teach them this art if they so desire without fee or written promise; to impart to my sons and the sons of the master who taught me and the disciples who have enrolled themselves and have agreed to the rules of the profession, but to these alone the precepts and the instruction. I will prescribe regimen 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 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. All that may come to my knowledge in the exercise of my profession or in daily commerce with men, which ought not to be spread abroad, I will keep secret and will never reveal. If I keep this oath faithfully, may I enjoy my life and practice my art, respected by all men and in all times; but if I swerve from it or violate it, may the reverse be my lot."

Upon graduation, many medical students take a modern version of the oath written by Louis Lasagna in 1964.
Hippocratic Oath -- Modern Version:
. . . I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God. . .

So what will a society do that is dependent upon an educated individual explaining to them "the knowldge of good and evil"regarding their health? If we continue with the modern version, there is no stand against abortion and really some severe leniency in "playing G~d" hinting toward even euthanasia. And what about electronic medical records and verichips regarding this pledged privacy? If we bring back the original Hippocratic Oath, can a true believer of Judeo-Christian values pay their office call to an individual that lives by that creed and swears by false gods?

and perceiving that he had faith to be healed,

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