Medicine betrayed : the participation of doctors in human rights abuses /

Based on material and evidence gathered over a two-year period (1990-1991) and expanding on a previous less extensive document, this report reviews the evidence, circumstances, and reasons of both the deliberate and involuntary involvement of doctors in violations of human rights. The book begins with a statement of the legal and ethical standards governing the work of doctors. Subsequent chapters detail the methods of evidence collection and verification for abuses of human rights; examine why and how doctors get involved in human rights abuse; present evidence of physician involvement in psychiatric coercion, judicial penalities, and forced therapeutic procedures; examine how doctors themselves are victims of abuse; and review the response of the medical profession to individual doctor involvement. The report concludes with a series of recommendations on the responsibilities of physicians in the protection of human rights and guidelines for the prevention of their abuse. This final chapter, together with the appendix of past BMA resolutions addressing the issues considered, provide a sensible framework that deserves the attention of every practitioner of medicine, medical association, and anyone interested in human rights. A well-prepared and informative book. General; graduate through professional.