Bioethics Discussion Blog: September 2014

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Thursday, September 04, 2014

Patients Killing Doctors










A discussion starting on a bioethics listserv to which I subscribe. The opening of the thread and followed by 2 responses.  Would you want and are you in favor for your physician to have a gun available in his or her office accessible for self-protection?  ..Maurice. 

The current issue of the New Yorker (Aug. 25, 2014) has a man-bites-dog story "Under the Knife" (pp. 30-35) about an epidemic of doctor-killings by Chinese patients Physicians, of course, have been (mostly inadvertently) killing patients throughout the history of medicine. With a few notable exceptions ( e.g., Gabrielle Zerbi 1455-1505/9 who was killed by the sons of one in retaliation for the death of one his patients a Turkish Pasha), patients have seldom retaliated in kind. 
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RESPONSE: 

This happens in the United States as well. 

There seem to be three major categories 
   The "political murder" of doctors who perform abortions. e.g.Tiller 

The murder of psychiatrists. 
http://abcnews.go.com/US/patient-kills-psychiatrist-murder-suicide/story?id=14155088 
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/patient-who-killed-psychiatrist-now-accused-of-slaying-hospital-roommate/ 

The murder of doctors because of the patient's believe that the doctor caused a side effect. 

Then I suppose one must also include what Grace Paley called "the little disturbances of man" where patients kill doctors over broken hearts. e.g. 
Dr. Herman Tarnower, 

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RESPONSE: 

And maybe another category, related to chronic care of end-stage organ failure. 
Nephrologist in MA shot over dialysis scheduling issue. Left paraplegic 
Transplant surgeon in FL shot by patient. 

Does anyone believe this will not be seen increasingly with "open carry" laws, and people bringing semi-automatic weapons on errands? 




Graphic: From Google Images