California Becomes First State to Condemn Use of Torture in ‘War on Terror’

When those that are charged to “do no harm” become accomplices to torture, the contrast between our society’s principles and practices is made startlingly clear.

A Harvard Medical School survey found that one-third of medical students didn’t know the law regarding torture. They found that 94 percent of medical students receive only 60 minutes of instruction on the issue!

SJR 19, introduced by State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles), is designed to protect the integrity of the health professions as well as the individual practitioners—by informing them of their legal and ethical obligations, and giving them a legal reference to remove themselves from abusive situations should they have to contravene the orders of a military superior.

In debate over SJR 19 in the Capitol, one argument put forth against it was that California should not be getting involved in a national issue. Yet, by virtue of the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the role of licensing and regulating the health professions has historically been the province of the individual states. Surely California has an interest in seeing that its licensed doctors, psychologists and nurses are held accountable to ethical standards.

Another argument raised was that the military physician’s oath to the Constitution should take precedence over the Hippocratic Oath. Aside from the fact that allegiance to the Constitution would include upholding the Bill of Rights—as well as Article Six that makes treaties such as the Geneva Conventions and the United Nations Convention Against Torture the law of the land—there is an even greater reason to have supported this legislation. By whatever name and in whichever land, torture is immoral and illegal. And to the healing arts it must be anathema.

SJR 19 is “just” a resolution, However, it now represents the official position of one of the most influential states in the union. New York is considering a similar measure. The resolution breaks the silence on the grave issue of torture. It upholds the ethics of our healing professions, and it represents a first step toward ending a policy of prisoner abuse and restoring American ideals.

As a democratic society, we possess no greater treasure than our moral integrity. It is the best of who we are, and it is a legacy that we are determined to protect for the next generation.

Eisha Mason is associate regional director for the American Friends Service Committee – Pacific Southwest Region. She was formerly executive director of the Center for the Advancement for Nonviolence, now Common Peace. She is also the host of the Morning Review, Thursdays at 7 a.m. on KPFK 90.7 FM.

The American Friends Service Committee, along with Physicians for Social Responsibility – Los Angeles and Program for Torture Victims, coordinated the campaign for SJR 19. The AFSC is an international peace and justice organization founded in 1917 and governed by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Its programs of peace, relief, reconciliation and development are based on nonviolence and belief in the inherent goodness of all persons. In 1947, AFSC accepted the Noble Peace Prize on behalf of all Quakers worldwide. Its Pacific Southwest Regional Office is located in downtown Los Angeles.