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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Sondra S. Crosby, MD¹, Julie H. Levison, MD, M Phil², and Michael Grodin, MD¹. (1) Boston Medical Center, The Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights, Dowling 7, 1 Boston Medical Center Place, Boston, MA 02118, (617) 414-4794, scrosby@bu.edu, (2) Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights, Dowling 7, 1 Boston Medical Center Place, Boston, MA 02118

The AMA's position on torture states, “Physicians must oppose torture and must not participate in torture for any reason.”, “physicians must not be present when torture is used or threatened”, and that “physicians should not treat individuals to verify their health so that torture can begin or continue.”

A recent U.N. report, (in addition to reports by numerous other sources including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Committee of the Red Cross) include allegations that health care professionals at Guantánamo Bay Naval Base participated in interrogation of detainees, including sharing of confidential information with interrogators, who used information for coercion/ and or punishment. Medical professionals have also been allegedly involved with force feeding of prisoners who were on hunger strikes, using aggressive restraint systems, and without heeding the principles of informed consent. The report indicates that some health care professionals have been complicit in abusive treatment.

Health professionals have an obligation to preserve the health and dignity of all human beings, and must always act in the best interests of patients. This responsibility to the patient may come into direct conflict when health care professionals are answering to government authorities, placing the health care worker in an untenable position.

We propose a panel to discuss the following issues:

• Mental Health Professionals involvement in interrogation

• Force feeding of hunger strikers - principle of informed consent

• Medical professional's involvement in abusive treatment, and duty to report knowledge of abusive treatment

Learning Objectives:

• To document the relationship between Health and Human Rights violations, to identify the nature and consequences of human rights abuses, and to explore the problems of physician dual loyalty, interrogations, hunger strikes and due process

Keywords: Torture,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation