NCJ Number
108704
Journal
Forensic Science International Volume: 35 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1987) Pages: 237-247
Date Published
1987
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Allegations of torture are on the increase and the medicolegal and ethical problems can no longer be ignored by the medical profession.
Abstract
While jurists fail to give effective legal guidelines as to what amounts to 'torture,' reports indicate that doctors are often engaged in activities which are difficult to reconcile with any conception of medical ethics. There is a clear need for the medical profession to re-evaluate their involvement in circumstances that are a direct antithesis of their professional occupation. The skills of doctors with forensic expertise allow detection of human rights abuses and thereby its potential reduction. There is scope for the reduction of torture or ill-treatment, if the profession maintains high standards of medical practice and ethics. (Publisher abstract)