Where is the American Medical Association on Doctors assisting Torture?

[ThomWV]

According to the Red Cross Report medical personel, apparently Doctors, assistned in the torture of detainees held by us. What is the positon of the American Medical Association on this, what are others in the medical profession doing about it? I'm not a member so I don't feel I have much voice, but I know very well some of you are dues paying members.

[villager]

1. Too busy opposing non-pharmaceutical remedies to bother or care?

n/t

[babylonsister]

2. Whoa. This is from 2004!

AMA calls for inquiry into doctors' role in abuse of prisoners

Susan Mayor

London
The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The American Medical Association (AMA), the professional body for doctors in the United States, is supporting calls for a new investigation into whether doctors were complicit in the torture of prisoners held by US military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

James Rohack, chairman of the AMA's trustees, has written to the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, supporting a recommendation by the US army investigator, Major General George Fay, for an inquiry into the possible failure of medical professionals "to properly document and report the abuse" of detainees.

The association, which can censure, suspend, or expel any member found to have violated its principles of medical ethics, has offered any such inquiry its expertise in professional ethics and clinical medicine.

The association has given a copy of its letter to Mr Rumsfeld to the BMA and the UK based charity Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, which made . . . {Full text of this article at link}

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/329/7473/993

[Dennis Donovan]

3. The AMA is, historically, conservative...

...although such actions by licensed Dr's flies in the face of their hippocratic oath.:think:

[ThomWV]

5. I find it hard to consider torture a practice condoned by Conservative Orginizations

Seems sort of radical to me to tell the truth.

[Dennis Donovan]

7. True - torture is a NeoCon fettish...

;)

[babylonsister]

4. From Physicians For Human Rights...

http://actnow-phr.org/campaign/investigate_torture

Establish a Commission to Investigate US Torture and Hold Health Professionals Accountable


Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has proposed the establishment of a bipartisan commission to investigate torture and other abuses committed by the Bush Administration.

PHR has been at the forefront of calls for an investigative commission since we began the Campaign Against Torture over half a decade ago—this is our chance to make it a reality. And we need your support.

Let Senator Leahy and the world know you support this commission by signing the petition below. We believe if we can get 10,000 people to sign this petition, we will create the political momentum needed to establish this commission.

Help us reach the goal of 10,000 petition signatures in support of a bipartisan commission to investigate the use of torture by the US Government. Sign on now and forward to 5 friends.

more...

[ThomWV]

8. Read the first sentence - that Commission idea has already been abandoned.

And Physicians for Human Rights isn't the AMA, is it?*

* I really don't know, is it some subset of the AMA or is it a stand alone orginization?

[liberalmuse]

6. I don't know, but they should be stripped of their medical license.

What is scary is, that many people in the SS were highly educated and had PhD's. There were doctors who committed unspeakable atrocities in Nazi Germany. We've almost crossed that fine line into becoming something I think most Americans abhor (except for Rush Limbaugh and a large segment of the Republican Party, who seem to wholeheartedly support torture). It's unacceptable.

[Sgent]

9. From the horses mouth as it were

E-2.068 Physician Participation in Interrogation
E-2.068 Physician Participation in Interrogation

Interrogation is defined as questioning related to law enforcement or to military and national security intelligence gathering, designed to prevent harm or danger to individuals, the public, or national security. Interrogations are distinct from questioning used by physicians to assess the physical or mental condition of an individual. To be appropriate, interrogations must avoid the use of coercion--—that is, threatening or causing harm through physical injury or mental suffering. In this Opinion, "detainee" is defined as a criminal suspect, prisoner of war, or any other individual who is being held involuntarily.

Physicians who engage in any activity that relies on their medical knowledge and skills must continue to uphold principles of medical ethics. Questions about the propriety of physician participation in interrogations and in the development of interrogation strategies may be addressed by balancing obligations to individuals with obligations to protect third parties and the public. The further removed the physician is from direct involvement with a detainee, the more justifiable is a role serving the public interest. Applying this general approach, physician involvement with interrogations during law enforcement or intelligence gathering should be guided by the following:

(1) Physicians may perform physical and mental assessments of detainees to determine the need for and to provide medical care. When so doing, physicians must disclose to the detainee the extent to which others have access to information included in medical records. Treatment must never be conditional on a patient’s participation in an interrogation.
(2) Physicians must neither conduct nor directly participate in an interrogation, because a role as physician-interrogator undermines the physician’s role as healer and thereby erodes trust in the individual physician-interrogator and in the medical profession.
(3) Physicians must not monitor interrogations with the intention of intervening in the process, because this constitutes direct participation in interrogation.
(4) Physicians may participate in developing effective interrogation strategies for general training purposes. These strategies must not threaten or cause physical injury or mental suffering and must be humane and respect the rights of individuals.
(5) When physicians have reason to believe that interrogations are coercive, they must report their observations to the appropriate authorities. If authorities are aware of coercive interrogations but have not intervened, physicians are ethically obligated to report the offenses to independent authorities that have the power to investigate or adjudicate such allegations. (I, III, VII, VIII) Issued November 2006 based on the report "Physician Participation in Interrogation," adopted June 2006.

BTW -- The AMA is not like the Bar Associations. Membership is not required to be a physician.

[ThomWV]

10. So, items 2, 3, 4, and 5 (out of 5) have been violated here

And that item 5 that requires reporting of the activity to independent authorities - I haven't seen much of that, have you.

By the way - what is that document?

[Sgent]

11. Its from the AMA Code of Medical Ethics

http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/Code_of_Med_Eth/amacode_home.html

Click on Ethical Opinions and Reports for the entire code.

[cbayer]

12. That's a statement from the Committee on Ethical and Judicial Affairs,

which was approved by the House of Delegates.


The AMA has been consistent and firm in this area, but it is a fact that it is not a requirement for physicians to be members. OTOH, a physician who violates the ethical principles established by the AMA would not be permitted to be a member.