Médecins, patients et leur relation amoureuse : Erôs contre Anterôs

The doctor-patient relationship of care can sometimes be transformed into a relationship of love. Firmly condemned, without measure and as “absolutely prohibited” by the Medical Association, the sincere love relationship between a doctor and patient remains a taboo subject. Setting aside reprehensible circumstances such as abuse of authority, blackmail or harassment, the author here makes an attempt to understand the factors that could have led the sincere love relationship between doctor and patient to constitute a transgression and an absolute prohibition? Even though this prohibition does not appear either in morality, law, or the Code of Medical Ethics. In the clinical setting, the doctor and patient are confronted with an intimity and unconscious phantasms were Eros can lead the medical relationship towards the risk of a romantic relationship. Only Anteros, the twin brother of Eros, is permitted to sever this forbidden alliance for the ultimate preservation of the Code of Medical Ethics. But Antigone, along with Creon, clearly show that transgression can also take the form of a dogged determination to enforce guidelines and hide behind noble and dignified motives, whether it be for rational or pious reasons. This is why the formalisation of ethical reflection in medicine on these themes is of great importance, in order to escape the depiction of intolerable absolutisms that are devoid of all nuance.