Common Sense Bypass

There has been some discussion in the right-wing press about the radical cleric, Omar Bakri Mohammed, and the fact that he might have heart surgery on the NHS if he returns to the UK. The tone suggests that the extra cost to the state adds weight to the argument that he should be permanently expelled. While there are indeed many good reasons why he should not be allowed back, I find it ludicrous that the operation is regarded as being one of them.

Consider the following - two patients are in a critical condition and are urgently in need of a new heart, but only one is available. There are two ways (say) to decide who gets it - the one who can most easily be reached or the one who is considered to be the most deserving - and, if the second option is followed to its conclusion, we reach some very worrying scenarios. After all, while terrorist-sympathising clerics are extremely low down on my list of worthy organ receivers, rabble-rousing Telegraph journalists are frankly not much higher. I also have a terrible vision of a reality show, possibly presented by Ant and Dec, in which viewers can vote for their favoured recipient and then watch live action from the operating theatre.

The Hippocratic Oath states that doctors are obliged to treat patients regardless of any moral judgements that they may make about them. There are good reasons for this - otherwise a lot of hacks would have a very low life expectancy indeed.