We the physicians of the world, united and loyal to the Hippocratic Oath, recognizing the profession of medicine as we know it is at a crossroad, are compelled to declare the following;
WHEREAS, it is our utmost responsibility and duty to uphold and restore the dignity, integrity, art and science of medicine;
WHEREAS, there is an unprecedented assault on our ability to care for our patients;
WHEREAS, public policy makers have chosen to force a “one size fits all” treatment strategy, resulting in needless illness and death, rather than upholding fundamental concepts of the individualized, personalized approach to patient care which is proven to be safe and more effective;
WHEREAS, physicians and other health care providers working on the front lines, utilizing their knowledge of epidemiology, pathophysiology and pharmacology, are often first to identify new, potentially life saving treatments;
WHEREAS, physicians are increasingly being discouraged from engaging in open professional discourse and the exchange of ideas about new and emerging diseases, not only endangering the essence of the medical profession, but more importantly, more tragically, the lives of our patients;
WHEREAS, thousands of physicians are being prevented from providing treatment to their patients, as a result of barriers put up by pharmacies, hospitals, and public health agencies, rendering the vast majority of healthcare providers helpless to protect their patients in the face of disease. Physicians are now advising their patients to simply go home (allowing the virus to replicate) and return when their disease worsens, resulting in hundreds of thousands of unnecessary patient deaths, due to failure-to-treat;
WHEREAS, this is not medicine. This is not care. These policies may actually constitute crimes against humanity.
NOW THEREFORE, IT IS:
RESOLVED, that the physician-patient relationship must be restored. The very heart of medicine is this relationship, which allows physicians to best understand their patients and their illnesses, to formulate treatments that give the best chance for success, while the patient is an active participant in their care. Read more»
Global Covid Summit | Rome | September, 2021
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- Advocates Of Religious Liberty Should Care About Federal Vaccine Mandates
- An Outline Of A Moral Objection To Vaccine Mandates
R. Scott Clark
R.Scott Clark is the President of the Heidelberg Reformation Association, the author and editor of, and contributor to several books and the author of many articles. He has taught church history and historical theology since 1997 at Westminster Seminary California. He has also taught at Wheaton College, Reformed Theological Seminary, and Concordia University. He has hosted the Heidelblog since 2007.
More by R. Scott Clark ›
Just. Wow.
The actual Hippocratic Oath is a little problematic. It begins, “I swear by Apollo the physician, and Asclepius, and Hygieia and Panacea and all the gods and goddesses as my witnesses, that, according to my ability and judgement, I will keep this Oath and this contract: …” 😉
Physicians haven’t sworn an oath to the gods for a very long time, right?
From Rome? Sounds good but always skeptical. Will wait to see how far this goes.
So grateful for the physicians that are speaking out in these various organizations that have sprung up since the pandemic began, eg the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance.
As a physician who has many friends that are treating seriously-ill COVID patients, these sorts of statements can be very misleading and confusing for the general public with their generalized and vague claims and veiled language. I’m not sure what it’s attemtping to achieve. People are welcome to their own personal opinions, but ultimately physicians are bound to use treatments that are shown to be reasonably likely to be safe and effective, weighing many considerations, regardless of whatever politics are playing out on television or the internet. I know at least one of these signers (many of whom are likely not working in direct patient care) at least implicitly advocates treatments which are not proven by reliable medical research, based on industry standards, to be safe and effective. (This was clear to me after listening to a recent podcast with him on YouTube). Many of these claims are subtle enough to sound persuasive to someone without advanced medical training. They also use language that implies doctors are being held hostage by the government and pharmaceutical companies, unable to practice evidence-based medicine, which sounds really scary to the general public. However, I have not known of any of my friends, including Christian doctors, who are treating sick and dying patients who really have that as a major concern. They’ve had a lot more issues with people getting misinformation from certain news sources on the internet and then becoming seriously ill. Many doctors do not feel their treatments are being hampered by government intrusion. But they do wish the general public were more well-informed by objective medical data. I try to refrain from commenting on this topic much in public but I think this is something which looks good on the surface but is actually very misleading and out of touch with the concerns of many front-line COVID providers. It makes people fearful but is far from consensus.