Two issues caught my eye m recent weeks and both concern aspects of doing the best for our patients. The first was a study of medical students in the UK.1 The survey by Dr Sophie Strickland of King George Hospital, Essex, reported that 45 % of over 700 respondents in Cardiff, Leeds and London said doctors should have the right to object to any procedure for which they have a moral, cultural or religious disagreement. I found this somewhat dispiriting-if we all have the right to object on this basis what becomes of our responsibilities to do the best for our patients. I recognize that the views and beliefs of doctors cannot be swept under the carpet, but if doctors act only according to their conscience and stop providing medical care to which they object, where does that leave patients?
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