What role are healthcare personnel prohibited from playing in relation to detainee interrogations?

Healthcare personnel are prohibited from assisting interrogation teams due to the ethical commitment to do no harm and to maintain the integrity of medical practice. Their primary role is to ensure the health and well-being of patients, regardless of their status as individuals detained for interrogation. Involvement in interrogation, especially in a supportive capacity, would compromise the trust essential in the healthcare relationship and could lead to the misuse of medical knowledge in ways that could harm the detainee.

The involvement of healthcare personnel in interrogations can create a conflict of interest, as they may be pressured to prioritize the goals of the interrogation over the welfare of the detainee. This undermines the fundamental principles of medical ethics, which include beneficence, non-maleficence, and respect for personhood.

While providing medical support during interrogations could ensure that detainees remain physically capable of enduring questioning, it equally poses ethical dilemmas. Documenting interrogation procedures might seem neutral but can also imply complicity in potentially coercive tactics. Monitoring detainee health during questioning may seem necessary from a medical viewpoint; however, if it leads to enabling or facilitating abusive tactics, it also poses significant ethical concerns. Hence, the clear prohibition against healthcare personnel assisting interrogation teams is grounded in ensuring ethical safeguards for detainees