Ethics Newsline®

New York Times profiles how prestigious medical school confronts ethical and legal dilemma

STOCKHOLM
One of the world’s most prestigious medical schools, the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, is grappling with an ethical dilemma: Should a convicted murderer be allowed to become a doctor?

New York Times reporter Lawrence Altman writes: “Last summer, Karl Helge Hampus Svensson, 31, was among the 180 students admitted to the freshman class after receiving top grades in high school and courses he took online over the previous six years. But last fall, institute officials received two anonymous letters claiming that Mr. Svensson had been a Nazi sympathizer who was paroled from a maximum-security prison after being convicted in 2000 of murder, a killing the police called a hate crime. After confirming the information, the institute had to decide: Should Mr. Svensson be allowed to become a doctor?”

Altman reports that while many argued that Svensson could not become a doctor because his background would not allow him to garner trust for the sanctity of life, others contended that because he had served his time he should be allowed to stay.

The issue was resolved when it was discovered that Svensson had changed his name on transcripts, which the school deemed as falsification.

He was expelled on that basis.

But the Times notes that the expulsion does not resolve the basic issues or set a precedent on how to handle future cases.

Source: New York Times, Jan. 25.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Dec. 10, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 13, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 5, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 1, 2007.