The American Medical Association vs. Human Nature

Sep 6, 2017 by

by Philip Hawley Jr, Public Discourse:

The AMA’s Code of Medical Ethics is a cautionary tale of what happens when medical ethics are grounded in social policy and personal intuitions rather than timeless, universal, and immutable moral truths.

In his prophetic work, The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis foretold humanity’s final conflict as a revolution against ourselves, or, more specifically, our human nature. In case you hadn’t noticed, the battle is well underway. Nowhere is this struggle more evident than in the realm of medicine, where stunning technological advances have opened the door to metaphysical mischief.

A microcosm of this conflict can be seen in the American Medical Association’s (AMA’s) Code of Medical Ethics. Curiously, nowhere in this document does the AMA explain its foundational moral principles—a conspicuous omission for a code of ethics. Even more curious is the other conspicuous omission: us. You and me. Oh, sure, there are several mentions of various body organs, human genes, and the like, but nowhere in the text’s eleven chapters will you find any discussion of our human nature. The qualities that ground patient rights and physician duties are simply never mentioned. It is as if the AMA has abandoned human nature as a meaningful determinant of medical ethics.

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