Health Secretary Steve Barclay said junior doctors across England began a four-day strike just after the Easter break, putting patients at "greater risk".
More than a quarter of a million appointments and surgeries have been canceled in the strike that started this morning.
The British Medical Association has called for a 35% pay rise.
But the government said that was an unreasonable request.
Mr Barclay accused organizers of timing the strike after the Easter bank holiday weekend - when the NHS was already facing increased demand and staff absenteeism - "to maximize disruption".
The BMA said they planned to keep doctors off the cordon when lives were in imminent danger. Insurance for life and limb is mandatory under trade union law.
The young doctor's approach stands in stark contrast to the recent strike by nurses and ambulance workers, in which unions agreed to exempt certain emergency services.
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