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Edmund D. Pellegrino, MD

JAMA. 1992;268(13):1734-1735.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

In this issue of JAMA, Antonella Surbone, MD, describes her dilemma in trying to transfer the ideals of medical ethics she learned in the United States to her native Italy.¹ From her experience in the United States, she found that truth telling and respect for autonomy have become virtual moral absolutes. On the other hand, in Italy, families and physicians often shield patients from painful truths and difficult decisions. As Dr Surbone points out, what is beneficent in one country may seem maleficent in another country.

This contrast in moral perspectives, of course, is not unique to the differences between Italy and North America. It has become a worldwide problem as newer models of medical ethics nurtured in the individualistic soil of North America are introduced to other countries with different moral traditions.² But similar contrasts may exist within a country, for example, between northern and southern Italy, . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Center for Advanced Study of Ethics, Georgetown University, Washington, DC.

Footnotes
Reprints not available.

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