"The Benjamin Rush Society aims to unite medical students, residents, fellows, and doctors across the political spectrum — as well as members of the general public — who believe that the profession of medicine calls its practitioners to serve their patients, rather than the government. We believe that the physician-patient relationship is a voluntary and mutually beneficial one. Both parties have a right to enter this relationship freely. The proper role of government is to protect this freedom, not to diminish it.
The time-honored profession of medicine calls for physicians to serve their patients, not a third party -- and certainly not one that wields the coercive force of law. Doctors should not be required to base decisions on societal utility or the perceived marginal value of life; rather, their decisions should be based freely on the needs and desires of each individual patient. The Hippocratic Oath reads, "I will follow that system of regimen which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievious." The Benjamin Rush Society is committed to preserving the freedom to practice in this manner, according to the dictates of conscience and the interests of patients, and none other. "
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