The duty of a medical doctor

In forensic medicine the duty of a medical doctor is only to find the facts and leave the judgment to the legal officers.

Overstepping the limits of this duty, as in the case of Soeharto trial, will result in the medical doctors becoming lame ducks in the eyes of the public. Or, in the words of President Abdurrahman Wahid, the doctors were seen as playing with politics.

It is a pity, the medical profession could have played an important role in history.

SUMARSONO SASTROWARDOYO

Jakarta