Arba`ah Turim of Rabbi Jacob ben Asher on Medical Ethics

Abstract

"Anyone who is unfamiliar with the practice of medicine should not engage in it. Similarly, if a greater physician is available, one should not engage in medical practice. This follows from the general principle that no one should deal with matters of life and death whenever a greater scholar is available. Nonetheless, failure to engage in healing [when no greater physician is available]5 is tantamount to killing and will be punished in hell. Whoever practices medicine without first obtaining a license from a rabbinical court is liable to pay for any injury he does, even if he is well versed in his field. But whoever injures a patient by mistake after having obtained such a license is exempt from liability in the eyes of the mundane judicial system while remaining liable in the eyes of heaven. If a licensed practitioner inadvertently kills a patient, he is bound to flee to a city of refuge.6 In any event, fear of error need not deter him, as I have explained.7 May a son bleed his father? Nachmanides (1194-1270), although himself permissive, noted that Rabbi Isaac Alfasi (1013-1103) favored the position of Rabbi Pappa, who did not even allow his son to remove a thorn from him."(pg 75)