TY - JOUR T1 - Must doctors save their patients? JF - Journal of Medical Ethics JO - J Med Ethics SP - 211 LP - 218 DO - 10.1136/jme.9.4.211 VL - 9 IS - 4 AU - J Harris Y1 - 1983/12/01 UR - http://jme.bmj.com/content/9/4/211.abstract N2 - Do doctors and other medical staff have an obligation to treat those who need their help? This paper assumes no legal or contractual obligations but attempts to discover whether there is any general moral obligation to treat those in need. In particular the questions of whether or not the obligation that falls on medical staff is different from that of others and of whether doctors are more blameworthy than others if they fail to treat patients are examined. Finally we look at the question of the burden of this obligation and at the responsibility of society to mitigate its hardships. ER -