The dangerous doctor.
The modern medical profession, still framing its ethics on the dubious statements
of an ignorant physician who lived more than two thousand years ago –
ignorant, that is, in terms of the modern world – continues to believe it has a duty to keep alive as many people as possible. In many parts of the world doctors apply their intelligence to one aspect of man’s welfare - survival – and deny their moral right to apply it to the problem as a whole. Through medical care and improved sanitation they are responsible for more millions living more years in increasing misery. Their refusal to consider their responsibility in these matters does not seem to them to compromise their intellectual integrity.
W. Vogt. Road to Survival. 1948.