Medical Ethics

The American Medical Association (AMA) issued a statement showing endorsement of cloning and stem-cell research, even though both processes result in killing human embryos, according to a July 18 Agape Press news story. The report indicates that many doctors are alarmed and dismayed that the organization would take a stance that actually violates the tenet of the Hippocratic Oath that has governed medicine for hundreds of years: "first do no harm." This ethic basically says a physician should never willfully harm a human being, even in an attempt to help another. Dr. Eugene Rudd of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA) feels the decision to endorse these controversial procedures will force many members to leave the AMA. He says that in a couple of decades, that organization has gone from representing 90% of practicing physicians in the U.S. to currently representing only 40%.