title: What is medical ethics?
abstract: This article is the first of a series on medical ethics which will appear at irregular intervals in the JOURNAL of the Louisiana State Medical Society. The ethical issues which will cover many of the problems encountered in clinical practice that cause a dilemma for physicians and patients. In these cases a choice usually exists and one describes the situation with words such as "should" or "ought." The author will write about current issues in medical ethics. His goal will be to describe a problem and to present the arguments for and against various solutions. He does not intend to tell you how you should react to ethical issues; that is each person's judgment. On the other hand, he will try to give you the arguments and hopes to help you to see the issue from several perspectives.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Hargrove
mesh_terms: D002755:Choice Behavior; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D008145:Louisiana