> Medicine is never that cut and dried. This feels like an incomplete argument to me. > "First, do no harm" is a sound moral position in the later case. But

> Medicine is never that cut and dried. This feels like an incomplete argument to me. > "First, do no harm" is a sound moral position in the later case. But it's a black and white moral position that doctors in the real world can't cling to on anything more than a casual basis. All treatment comes with risks, from mild side-effects all the way to death. Surgery is inherently risky, and people die all the time. Cosmetic surgeons perform surgery all the time without being struck off. Then there's abortion, euthanasia, and refusal to treat people without medical insurance.