Doctors and Torture

This book brings into sharp relief the extent to which the medical profession has enabled or participated in actions that are at moral crossroads. Physical and psychological abuse and violations of medical codes have already been brought to light by concerned bioethicists responding to ethical lapses of the “war on terror.” This book goes to the next level by looking at three areas that also merit our attention and call us to speak out against abuses. These are (1) dehumanization (such as forced nudity, hooding, sensory deprivation, exploitation of phobias, waterboarding, and environmental manipulation), (2) non-consensual forced-feeding, and (3) solitary confinement. Each area raises important questions for the medical profession.

Author Wanda Teays calls upon doctors and nurses to reflect on the role they play in the unethical treatment of prisoners and detainees by crossing moral boundaries around each of these areas. In the process, we are reminded that bioethics isglobal, not local — and the concerns of the discipline encompass issues with a wider scope.

• Solitary Confinement
• Forced Feeding
• Ethics of Torture
• Professional Ethics
• Enhanced Interrogation
• Boundaries of Torture
• Foundations of Ethical Theory

• Philosophy Department, Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles, USA

  Wanda Teays

Wanda Teays is a professor of Philosophy and Ethics at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles. She is the author or editor of numerous books and articles on Ethics, Global Bioethics, Ethics & Film, and Critical Reasoning. These include Analyzing Violence Against Women (Springer 2019), Global Bioethics and Human Rights: Contemporary Issues (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014); Business Ethics Through Movies: A Case Study Approach (Wiley, 2015) Seeing the Light: Exploring Ethics Through Movies (Wiley, 2013); Bioethics, Justice and Health Care (Wadsworth, 2001); Second Thoughts: Critical Thinking for a Diverse Society, 4th ed. (McGraw-Hill, 2010); Violence Against Women: Philosophical Perspectives (Cornell U Press, 1998).

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