Ethical Issues in the Management of Civil Unrest Injuries

Abstract

Doctors have recently been confronted by ethical and medical issues during the recent "civil unrest" since 19851 issues which are new to their experience and foreign to their training. People argue that medical science is objective and value-free, but it has become very clear that medical ethics is a site for, intense subjective conflict. Medical opinion is far from neutral: it is strongly influenced by personal value systems, personal experiences, social and political factors. Medical ethics became dynamic enterprise of applying general principles to real life events in a meaningful way. A few of the pressing problems are discussed, analyzed and illustrated by life experiences. Some of the questions dealt with, are: May police seize medical records? Does a doctor have to report a gunshot? May the police be present during the examinations of civil unrest injuries? May police prevent health care personnel entering areas where injured people are in need of treatment? How important is confidentiality in the doctor-patient relationship ?