An Australian court has ruled that a surgeon charged with raping a fellow doctor after he removed his condom without permission can continue practicing medicine. The court ruled after the Medical Board of Australia suspended the surgeon's registration as a medical practitioner following the incident. The Medical Board is appealing the decision in the Supreme Court.
The Age reports: ‘Tribunal documents reveal that the surgeon and the other doctor were known to each other before the alleged rape. The two had been out to dinner when they decided to return to the other doctor's home. According to the alleged victim, at dinner the pair had talked about gay men's health issues, including various methods of avoiding contracting HIV. Worried about contracting the virus, the doctor told the surgeon that he would not have sex without a condom, and that medication the surgeon was taking to avoid contracting HIV was in his view an added safety net, not a substitute for using a condom. The doctor told police he was “very upset” and asked the surgeon why he had removed the condom. The surgeon responded only that “it feels better”, according to court documents.'
After the incident the doctor said he was concerned about contracting HIV and began taking post-exposure prophylaxis, and asked the surgeon to clarify his HIV status. The surgeon reportedly blocked his calls and texts.
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