Eugene Robinson, the Washington Post's (sub)premier columnist, is upset that medical personnel have participated in torture (without admitting that there are those of us who do not necessarily feel that enhanced interrogation is torture): "As for those who said yes, the law should hold them accountable."
Um, Eugene, three things: One,the Hippocratic Oath to which you appear to refer is a medical oath, not legal requirement; it isn't illegal to violate it.
Two, many parts of the oath are controversial even within the medical community. Are you aware that the original oath prohibits abortion? [I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy.]
Three, the phrase "Above all, do no harm," usually attributed to the oath, doesn't specify an object, so the relevant question is "harm to whom?" I'd suggest you look up Asimov's Zeroth Law for a possible answer that you might find disconcerting.
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