PEDIATRICS Vol. 69 No. 6 June 1982, pp. 738
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A HIGHER DUTY

John T. McCarthy MD

We are but transient passengers on this planet Earth. It does not belong to us. We are not free to doom generations yet unborn. We are not at liberty to erase humanity's past or dim its future. Social systems do not endure for an eternity. Only life can lay claim to uninterrupted continuity. This continuity is sacred. We physicians, who shepherd human life from birth to death, are aware of the resiliency, courage, and creativeness that human beings possess. We have an abiding faith in the concept that humanity can control what humanity creates. This perception provides optimistic purpose in reversing the direction of humankind's potential tragic destiny.