Mehmet Oz is an Ivy League-educated cardiac surgeon who became a household name by doling out (often questionable) medical advice to millions of viewers on national television. John Fetterman, Pennsylvanias lieutenant governor, is a guy who just had a stroke.

In another life, Oz may have been the doctor to perform life-saving surgery on Fetterman and guide him through his recovery, which has involved improving his speech and auditory functions.

But in this life, the celebrity doctor and his campaign have instead used Fettermans health setback as the basis for clunky attacks on Fettermans fitness for office and his lack of time on the campaign trail as he recovers issues that have animated the final weeks of a critical U.S. Senate contest in a must-win state for Republicans .

It is so difficult for physicians to understand how another physician could make those types of comments or behave in that way, said Val Arkoosh, a former obstetric anesthesiologist who ran in the Democratic primary for Senate in Pennsylvania. It violates our oath, it violates our ethics. And its just hard for me to understand and believe that he took the same oath that I did when we graduated from medical school.

Each campaign has escalated the race around Fettermans health in the final weeks of the race to different effects. Oz, a Republican and once-venerated surgical specialist at Columbia University, has mocked his Democratic opponent for his near-fatal stroke although Oz has recently tried to distance himself from his campaign staffers, telling a radio host he personally has compassion for Fetterman. Fetterman has used Ozs attacks to paint him as an out-of-touch bully while dodging some of the more serious questions surrounding his health and his reluctance to debate Oz.

He should just acknowledge that, as a doctor, you are going around making fun of somebody that had a stroke, Fetterman said Wednesday during his first national TV interview since his stroke in May.