Medical ethics in today's society.

Abstract

I want to express my great thanks to the Board of Regents for the high honor to be chosen as the 1993 Ethics and Philosophy Lecturer. Cognizant of the great importance of ethics in surgical practice and the implications of our decisions, I accepted this challenge with alacrity but also with humility. On occasions such as this lecture, this speaker wonders if he will say the correct things or at least say them with the conviction and vitality that surgical and ethical principles demand. However, being in the company of colleagues — Fellows of the American College of Surgeons — makes my task an easier one in this regard. The College is deeply indebted to John Conley, MD, FACS, who proposed and financially supports this lecture, which is devoted to the essence of medicine — its character, style, discipline, and philosophy. Further, it allows us to consider the ethical dilemmas that confront surgeons today.