Letters
Law has a protective function for both patients and doctors
BMJ 1996; 313 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.313.7051.227c (Published 27 July 1996) Cite this as: BMJ 1996;313:227- Ilora Finlay, senior lecturer in palliative medicine,
- Philip Routledge, professor of therapeutics,
- Andrew Freedma, consultant in HIV and infectious diseases,
- Ken Woodhouse, professor of geriatric medicine,
- D P Davies, professor of child health,
- A B Hawthorne, consultant gastroenterologist,
- Mike Pritchard, consultant rheumatologist,
- Molly Hall, consultant general physician and rheumatologist,
- Peter Beck, consultant physician,
- Clare Wilkinson, senior lecturer in general practice
- University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff CF4 4XN
EDITOR,—“Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy”; so wrote F Scott Fitzgerald. Jack Kevorkian is a fanatic, not a hero.1
There are some practical reasons why the killing of a patient, even when problems seem insurmountable, must remain prohibited in law. The law has a protective function. It protects the vulnerable from misinformation due …
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