Canadian Physicians’ Breach of Duty to Patients and Communities from the Acquisition of Indigenous Skulls in the 19th Century to the Abandonment of People with AIDS in the 20th Century

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Abstract

The impact of the Vienna Protocol transcends the world of Jewish law and provides important ethical considerations for modern medicine. This article provides a series of examples demonstrating how Canadian medical history intersects with the Vienna Protocol, and why historical insight remains relevant. Investigations into this exploitation include this author's own inquiry and attempt to repatriate Canadian indigenous skulls (a gift from William Osler to Rudolf Virchow), the glaring maltreatment of Aboriginal children in Canadian nutrition experiments, and the maltreatment of Canadian AIDS patients in the 1980s.

Rudolf Virchow photo provided by and licensed from Alamy Inc., Brooklyn, NY