Leon R. Kass

About the author: Leon R. Kass is the chairman of the President's Council on Bioethics. He is a researcher in molecular biology, bioethics, ethics, philosophy, family, and social mores. Kass is also a former surgeon and a professor at the College and the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago. Among the books Kass has written are and

The medical profession has an intrinsic moral character which prohibits its members from practicing euthanasia. Traditional professional ethics demand that the physician devote him or herself to healing the sick and to serving the higher good of health and wholeness. In support of these ethics, the physician is required to embrace certain virtues, including moderation, self-restraint, sympathy, truthfulness, and encouragement. Accompanying these virtues is the unchangeable rule that doctors must not kill; ending...