Letter to an ethicist.

CMAJ · 1995

editorial · Level V

Where this comes from

Abstract

Just as issues have arisen in court that cause the public to question whether the rights of criminals are taking precedence over the rights of victims, some physicians wonder if ethicists are placing the rights of some patients ahead of the rights of society and the common good. Pathologist Malcolm Silver raised this issue in a letter to the editor of CMAJ. With his permission, it was forwarded to Dr. Gordon Crelinsten, past chair of the ethics committee at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal.