I was thinking back to our discussion on torture, and specifically on the issues of Abu Ghraib, when a thought occurred to me. What sort of medical professionals were present in the prison? Very little mention was ever made of a physician, and the fact that prisoners were consistently denied the right to a health professional might indicate either the absence of such an individual or the of presence apathetic medical personnel.
More and more cases are arising where prison or correctional facility physicians are having either their license suspended to practice medicine or where they are simply being relieved of duty. Many times (such as this case: http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/projects/prison3/lo010603s4.shtml), doctors are being charged with gross incompetence, and others are being charged with involuntary manslaughter. I agree, that at times, many physicians in the correctional facilities around the country (and world) do not practice under the same standards that regulate federal health care. What remains true, though, is that the life of a prison physician is far from glamorous. Many adverse factors gravely affect prison medical staff, ranging from lack of resources or funding, to the sadly frequent practice that many nation states use: utilizing the prison system as a dumping ground for marginalized individuals and those with mental illness -- the "misfits" of society, if you will. Are prisons places where those who are ill have lost their standing in humankind? Should national medical associations make certain that these physicians have the same requirements for certification as a regulatory practice medical professional?
Most correctional facilities are state-run, with the exception of little dots of private institutions here and there throughout the United States. After some thought, I'm beginning to wonder if the state has a huge bearing on the requirements and performance of correctional facility physician and perhaps even nurses. Additionally, the use of lethal injection is legal in many states. A case a few years ago arose in Washington state where a prison physician resigned because he refused to administer a lethal injection. Whereas the American Medical Association condemns physicians from having any direct role in lethal injections, including "any action that would assist, supervise or otherwise contribute in any way to cause the death of the condemned" (AMA). My point in bringing this up is that the states that run these places seem to have very little thought in the healthcare of the prisoners and in the ethical guidelines that many doctors believe must be adhered to in correctional facilities.
What do you guys think?
Everything I've ever read about prisons in this country leads me to think conditions are often unacceptable (partially due to our preposterous rates of incarceration, but that's another story), so I don't find the news that medical care is substandard is particularly surprising. It's probably difficult for prison reform to receive the attention it deserves, given that those who suffer under the current system are often far from sympathetic characters.
ReplyDeleteThis ought to be an issue that people of any political stripe should be able to address, but prisoners naturally are easy to ignore, which is probably part of the reason the state seems to have allowed this problem to fester. Felons don't usually vote, after all.
I agree with Patrick, the conditions are unacceptable in prisons. It really bothers me knowing that medical resources are also lacking. When we watched the documentary about Abu Ghraib there was a part where a man tried to get help for his sick father and the guards simply pushed him away and told him not to come back. I think that the medical policies or lack there of, are a violation of human rights. Should we not all be able to have medical attention if needed even if we are in prison? I'm glad you brought this controversial topic to the class attention.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Stephen! I agree with Patrick about not being too surprised about the medical scene in the prisons. I wonder if the terrible medical conditions are used as a means to further the interrogations itself to let the prisoner suffer as well. It is a way to negatively affect the mindset of the prisoners in order to get them to talk and give the information that the torturers want. I am not sure about this however but it is possible that that is why the doctors are essentially ignoring the patients’ needs when they work at prison camp because it might be a means for torture itself. Emotional and physical torture are both done through the lack of proper medical treatment. As we saw in the documentary and the reference the Liz makes in her comment of that the man who saw his dad suffer without any medical help and caused him to later pass away, in turn the man watching was affected through a lot of emotional damage. Thus, possibly the lack of good medical conditions and doctors is another means to emotional and physical interrogational torture.
ReplyDeleteLiz, I thought the same thing while reading this post. The abuse caused by the guards was disturbing and beyond sad. But also, the man watching his father die without any medical attention after begging for someone to at least take into consideration that he might be ill. Often times, I think the blame is placed upon the doctors for not taking the responsibility to contribute to the medical security of prisoners due to the "less than glamorous work." Yet, I feel this is not the case and if approached I think that doctors would be willing to contribute their services where needed if there was a logical system. This is something that deserves serious attention, but is often overlooked.
ReplyDeleteThis post makes me wonder the extent to which the Hippocratic Oath guides the actions of doctors. I was under the impression that all individuals who become doctors take this oath, which "requires" them to practice medicine ethically. This type of oath SHOULD extend to all of their actions and patients, regardless of the situation.
ReplyDeleteKeeing in mind the instance in "The Ghosts of Abu Ghraib" one interveiwee told of how he brought his dying father to the guards and they refused to allow him to see a doctor, I definitely agree wtih Liz and Manali in that the active denial of access to medical care is a violation of human rights. This particular example, however, is not about doctors; it's about the treatment of prisoners in US military prisons. I think we'd all agree, especially after watching the documentary, that the situation in US military prisons is often far from respectful of human rights...particularly the human rights of the "enemy".
ReplyDeleteYou all might find this interesting: http://readmorewritemorethinkmorebemore.blogspot.com/2010/06/doing-harm.html. It deals with a white paper written by Nobel Peace Price-winning organization, Physicians for Human Rights, about medical professionals' complicity in so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques."
ReplyDelete