A moral issue

[aronnax]

Say a man was to suffer a car accident and be brought to a hospital for an emergency procedure. The hospital staff is short and a black doctor is assigned to perform the procedure.

Without the procedure, the man will die within one hour. Finding another doctor might risk letting the man die.

However, the man requests for a white doctor. Should the doctor, no matter how insulted try to fufil his request, or should the doctor perform the procedure regardless to save the man's life.

 

[Soil]

Depends if the Doctor can get sued later if he chooses not to...

Personally, such a man's life isn't worth saving. If he himself chooses to risk death then go against his own racist ideals, then meh...

It's down to how the Doctor feels and what the law says about it.

 

[Defiant47]

The only moral issue is whether it would be ethical to weed out such a racist person out of the population, in an ironic fashion no less.

 

[Perfection]

The doctor dude should tell the guy that it's okay, his grandma was white so he's white too.

 

[Cutlass]

Drug the man so he doesn't know and do what needs to be done

 

[ParangBoi]

The doctor dude should tell the guy that it's okay, his grandma was white so he's white too.

Just remember to drug the patient first before saying so.


Also, i think there was something like this on an episode of House M.D.

 

[emzie]

Grab a sedative, inject, go to town.

Sorta reminds me of that picture of the dying klansmen on a surgery table as 5 black nurses try and save his life.

 

[bhsup]

Can a doctor operate on a patient if the patient says no?

 

[holy king]

Say a man was to suffer a car accident and be brought to a hospital for an emergency procedure. The hospital staff is short and a black doctor is assigned to perform the procedure.

Without the procedure, the man will die within one hour. Finding another doctor might risk letting the man die.

However, the man requests for a white doctor. Should the doctor, no matter how insulted try to fufil his request, or should the doctor perform the procedure regardless to save the man's life.

well, hippocratical oath and stuff...

and i very much doubt that someone who needs an urgent operation will complain about the doctor's skin colour anyway.

 

[emzie]

Can a doctor operate on a patient if the patient says no?

In the situation described, probably. It's hard to argue the patient was in a sound state of mind when he made the decision.

 

[CCRunner]

Show him a white guy, knock him out, then let the real doctor go to work.

What he doesn't know won't hurt him.

 

[holy king]

also if the man will die within one hour, he will fall unconscious soon, if he hasnt allready.

 

[aronnax]

also if the man will die within one hour, he will fall unconscious soon, if he hasnt allready.

Not for internal bleeding.
And seriously, when someone talks about a hypothetical situation where they stated situation is applied, apply to the situation, dont correct every detail of the given solution.

The word is "hypothetical". "What if"

 

[Red Door]

Is stealing a loaf of bread immoral if you need to feed your family?

I took Intro. to Philosophy...twice.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Show him the consequences of racism (by trying to find a white doctor).

 

[bhsup]

Y'all remember that episode of MASH where they put polish or something on a racist and led him to believe that he had to be given 'black blood' because they were out of 'white blood'?

 

[Mr. Dictator]

Hippocratic oath makes me thing you tell the guy it's either his life or his "ideals".

tell him that he will be operated on by a black doctor, if after that he still says no then you say begone with the piece of trash.

 

[Neverwonagame3]

A man has no right to commit suicide (a posistion I will defend if challenged). If a white doctor is avaliable they should do it (if they're at least equally competent), but otherwise the black should.

EDIT: Though by equally competent, that is factoring for the medical effects on him based on his belief a black or white doctor is doing it.

 

[DNK]

Can a doctor operate on a patient if the patient says no?

Pretty sure they can't. This is an issue with some cults and churches, I think, and certainly it's within a patient's rights to deny himself treatment.

In the situation described, probably. It's hard to argue the patient was in a sound state of mind when he made the decision.

Why isn't he in a sound state of mind? Simply being in an accident does not put one completely out of it, unless it was some sort of massive head trauma.

 

[El_Machinae]

It is a good moral question. Personally, I would respect his self-determination.