“A doctor killing a patient is analogous to a pilot deliberately crashing a plane.” So says neurosurgeon and Evolution News contributor Michael Egnor in a conversation with biologist Ray Bohlin.
It’s a brilliant comparison, in both parts of which a trained professional turns his expertise to the exact opposite purpose it was intended to serve. There are huge manuals stacked upon manuals for physicians on how to avoid killing patients, just as pilots are drilled to expose airplane passengers to minimum danger of falling from the sky.
In a new ID the Future episode, Egnor argues that if judges, legislators, or other advocates support killing patients under certain circumstances, then fine, let them do the killing. But don’t corrupt the medical profession on which we all rely.
As Dr. Egnor acutely notes, the point of involving doctors appears to be a non-medical one – putting a pretty, sanitary seal of approval on a heinous deed, in which MDs are really unneeded. It’s not for the patient’s good. It’s for the rest of us, to ease our conscience in something we know is wrong. Listen to the podcast here, or download it here.
Photo credit: mintchipdesigns, via Pixabay.