July 12, 2016: ISIS executes four doctors in Iraq

NINEVEH, IRAQ – What do you do when torn between your professional pledge and joining a terrorist group?

The medical profession is known for many things but perhaps none so important as what has come down to us over the centuries as the Hippocratic Oath. We have all heard the term and know what it says, right?

Wrong!

The most commonly held belief is that the phrase ‘First, do no harm‘ is central to the pledge. In actual fact, that four-word sequence does not occur in the oath (but in fairness something quite similar does). In any event, I’d imagine that the one image that sticks out for all of us is that those in the medical profession are there to help.

This overwhelming desire to assist those in need is truly admirable. So, what should a medical officer do if asked to treat wounded terrorists?

On this day in 2016

Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists executed four Iraqi doctors in that country’s Nineveh province after they refused to join the group. Their skills were seen as useful in administering aid to those terrorists who needed it.

The doctors, who were executed by the ISIS, have apparently refused to go to the battlefront and treat injured ISIS members. The bodies were later handed over to the forensic department in Mosul.

Unidentified source

It is probably not necessary to remind the reader what ISIS did and how heinous its acts were against men, women and children. In this light, the decision by the four doctors NOT to enlist and help further ISIS‘ violent agenda is understandable.

But did it conflict with the Hippocratic Oath?

Hmmm….

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