Philosophical Medical Ethics

The media have not been kind to the medical profession lately. The General Medical Council and BMA students have been quick to issue guidelines on ethical matters ranging from cheating at exams to euthanasia. Deluged from all sides by corporate condemnation and prescriptive guidance it is difficult to know what to read, and what it means, or where lofty guidelines meet real life. What should have been done does not always bear much resemblance to what was done. The core fact emerging from this whirlwind of papers and handbooks is that we must always be prepared to justify …