Before the Joint Committee on Judiciary
The Massachusetts Medical Society's has established policy on
the participation of physicians in torture.
"The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) asserts that physicians
should not be coerced or participate in, or otherwise assist or
facilitate, the commission of torture of any person.
Physicians who have firsthand knowledge that torture has
occurred, is occurring, or has been planned have a duty to promptly
inform person or persons in a position to take corrective
action.
Physicians providing medical care to individual detainees owe
their primary obligation to the well-being of their patients and
should not participate or assist in any way, whether directly or
indirectly, overtly or covertly, in the interrogation of their
patients on behalf of military or civilian agencies; nor should any
part of the medical records of any patient or information derived
from the treatment relationship be disclosed to persons conducting
interrogation of the detainee.
Physicians should not participate in or assist any coercive
interrogation including degradation, threats, isolation, imposition
of fear, humiliation, sensory deprivation or excessive stimulation,
sleep deprivation, exploitation of phobias, or intentional
infliction of physical pain."
The MMS's House of Delegates is the policy making arm of the
Society. It is comprised of over 200 regional delegates
representing the nearly 23,000 physicians and student members of
the MMS. Proposed policies are introduced by individual members,
committees of the Society or Districts. Testimony is presented
publicly during reference committee hearings on the first day of
the Annual meeting and the full House of Delegates votes on the
reference committee's recommendations thereafter.
The policy above was recommended for adoption by the reference
committee and subsequently adopted by the full House of Delegates
in 2006. This policy position is offered to assist the Committee in
its deliberations on Senate 1090.
