Psyche, Science, and Society

A doctor is a doctor first. How about a psychologist?

August 3rd, 2007

As the American Psychological Association argues that military psychologists involved in interrogations are military officers first, responsible to follow orders, whether or not they conflict with psychological ethics, many medical doctors are arguing the opposite. “A military physician needs to be a physician first and a military officer second, in my opinion” Dr. Sondra Crosby of Boston University is quoted in this article opposing physician involvement in force feeding hunger strikers:

US Military Doctors Criticized Over Force-Feeding
by AP staffwriters
CHICAGO- Military doctors violate medical ethics when they approve the force-feeding of hunger strikers at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, according to a commentary in a medical journal.

The doctors should attempt to prevent force-feeding by refusing to participate, the three authors write in today’s Journal of the American Medical Association. “In medicine, you can’t force treatment on a person who doesn’t give their voluntary informed consent,” said Dr. Sondra Crosby of Boston University, one of the authors. “A military physician needs to be a physician first and a military officer second, in my opinion.”

As of yesterday, 20 of 23 fasting detainees at Guantanamo were being fed liquid meals through flexible tubes inserted through their noses and throats, said Guantanamo spokesperson navy Cmdr. Rick Haupt. The strikers are protesting conditions at the camp and their confinement.

A few physicians have declined to participate in force-feeding, although the specific number has not been tracked, Haupt said.

Last year, the military started strapping detainees in restraint chairs during tube feedings to prevent the prisoners from resisting or making themselves vomit.

About 360 men, including Canadian Omar Khadr, are still held at Guantanamo on suspicion of links to Al Qaeda or the Taliban.

In contrast, evidently, psychologists are for sale to the highest bidder, whether that bidder be the military or corporate employers. At this point, “psychological ethics” is an oxymoron.

Entry Filed under: APA, Human Rights, Interrogation, Medicine, Psychology