There Can Be No Lying in Medicine

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Recommended: Should doctors lie to patients

Truthfulness spreads into almost everywhere such as relationships, education, especially medicine because it is a very significant property. Since the beginning, there is an argument in medicine whether doctors should always tell the truth to seriously ill or dying patients or not. There are many various ideas, which may change by situation or people, in this issue. For example, according to Sisella Bok there are three main arguments on this issue, which are that truthfulness is impossible; patients do not want bad news; and truthful information harms them (227) in her article “Lying to the Sick and Dying”. However, while she refers to these arguments she debunks them because she thinks that doctors should not tell lies to their patients. On the other hand, M.Weil and M.Smith are for lying in their article “Truth Telling to Cancer Patients in the Western European Context”. In spite of everything and opinions, because of the importance of the truthfulness in terms of peoples’ rights to make free rational choices doctors should always tell the truth.

Although doctors believe that they should tell lies because truthfulness is impossible because patients cannot understand them; in fact, there is no need for not telling the truth. First of all, doctors say that patients do not understand them (Bok 227): because their diagnosis includes esoteric information and in general patients are unfamiliar with this information, so they cannot understand their doctors (M.Smith and M.Weil 21).However, this argument is not enough for lying because doctors can make good explanations for patients, and they can simplify their esoteric information. Second of all, doctors say that it is impossible because while patients are weakened by illness and...

... middle of paper ...

...y, truthfulness is a real necessity and knowing the truth is a personal right, so doctors should always tell the truth.

Works Cited
Bok, Sisella. “Lies to the Sick and Dying.” Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private

Life. New York: Pantheon Books, 1978. 220-241

Carson, Janice. “Learning from a Dying Patient.” The American Journal of Nursing.

Vol. 71, No. 2 (Feb., 1971), 333-334. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. JSTOR.

Bilkent University Lib., Ankara, 10 Sept. 2008. Web.

Mazur, Tim C. “Lying.” Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. Santa Clara University. 10

Sept. 2008.Web.

Weil, M. , M. Smith, and D. Khayat . “Truth Telling to Cancer Patients in the Western

European Context.” Psycho-Oncology. Vol.3: 21-26 (1994). Electronic Journals

Database. Bilkent University Library, Ankara. 10 Sept. 2008. Web.

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