Hippocrates, sometimes called "the father of medicine", was born around 460BC. Hippocrates learned medicine from his father and grandfather and established a medical school on the island of Cos where he was born. He taught some of the first ethical principles of medicine. He and his students contributed to a group of works termed the Hippocratic Corpus. The famous Hippocratic Oath is one of the documents in this large work. Though medicine during this time did very little good for lack of scientific knowledge the oath does give some standards of professionalism such as confidentiality. This oath also gives us some moral standards to follow as physicians. Two of the lines deal specifically with physician assisted suicide and abortions. It says, " I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art." These lines have been removed in most modern renditions of this oath, and it is a testament to how are moral standards have decayed over the years. Hippocrates and his students knew that it was a physician's duty not to cause harm of any kind even when it is desired. Though Hippocrates swore by Greek gods, it would serve us well to make an oath with the everlasting God to uphold life even when it is not the popular thing to do. "Choose life that you may live."(Deuteronomy 30:19)
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