Focus: Current issues in medical ethics

Abstract

The relationship between law and ethics is possibly one of the most controversial subjects in any country all over the world. The author looks at some of the problems raised and relates how they would be treated in Israel under the law and ethical guidelines of the present time. He concludes by stating that, in his opinion, where the patient's body and integrity are not touched upon then statutory law may possibly take precedence over the rules of medical ethics. However, where the patient becomes the victim because domestic statutory laws are in opposition with medical ethics, he feels that medical practitioners should stand by their professional codes and persuade the legislators to adapt theirs to the laws of humanity and public conscience.