Ethics

I recently read an article on the actions of a young male medical student, who was hiring himself out. I wanted to put forwards my own opinions. The original article is cited below.

I personally do not think that his actions were reprehensible. They were certainly controversial, and I do not think that it was the best way of approaching his problem but it was a valid one, and it worked. He now needs to decide though – whether he wishes to continue as a harlot, or, once he has financial stability, give it up and turn his full attention to medicine. 

While his act of hiring his body out was not in itself illegal or contemptible, the way in which he seems to play with the emotions of his clientele does not seem to be justified or empathetic. While he simply tells them what they want to hear, it seems that he is enjoying building a harem, and the power which comes with it. This kind of behaviour is not what would be expected from someone who claims to want to go into a caring profession. The other issue is that if he wanted to fund his course then there are plenty of other ways to do so. There are loads of possible bursaries, people who would be willing to sponsor him or even just donate – there are books which list funds you can apply to for activities based on sporting, education, science, art and more. 

I understand that he felt he had no choice but to sell himself at the time but I feel that now he has had enough time to accumulate funds to support himself, or to find an alternative method of earning money. Either way, to protect himself and his future career against any potentially harmful activities, he should stop.

http://student.bmj.com/student/view-article.html?id=sbmj.e906