New York State has an unprecedented opportunity to lead the nation in the fight against torture by holding accountable health professionals complicit in prisoner abuse.

ACT NOW: Sign a petition urging the New York Legislature to pass the N.Y. Anti-Torture Bill in 2012

NEWS:  Read the New York Times Endorsement of the Bill

UPDATE: Top Medical Professionals Support NYS Anti-Torture Bill, Nation’s First

Get involved with the New York Campaign Against Torture (NYCAT).

In April 2009, the Bush administration’s “torture memos” as well as reports by the Senate Armed Services Committee and the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that doctors and psychologists have been directly involved in the design, justification, supervision and execution of torture at U.S. military and intelligence facilities. This violates state, federal and international law and professional ethics.

Despite proof of wrongdoing, the health professionals involved in torture still hold their professional licenses to practice. To ensure accountability for torture and to prevent such atrocities from happening again, New York State legislators have introduced new legislation that:

• Confirms that NY-licensed health professionals’ duty to do no harm applies to their professional relationships with all patients and under all employers;
• Reaffirms that health professionals licensed in New York are prohibited from involvement in torture or other abuse of prisoners, wherever that abuse takes place;
• Removes NY-licensed health professionals from interrogations; and
• Helps NY-licensed health professionals resist unlawful orders that could place them at risk of criminal prosecution and civil damages lawsuits.

Take Action

Learn more:

• Sponsor’s memo
• Full text of the bill
• Supporting organizations and leaders

New York residents:

Send an email to your Assemblymember and State Senator, asking them to support the “NY Anti-Torture Legislation.”

• Look up your NY State Assemblymember
• Look up your NY State Senator

Organizations:

• Submit a letter in support of the legislation to yang-yang.zhou@nyumc.org. Click on the links below to see examples by current supporters.

SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS

Professional Associations

• American College of Physicians, NY Chapter
• NY State Society of Physician’s Assistants
• NY State Psychological Association
• NY State Nurses Association
• NY State Nurse Practitioner Association
• National Association of Social Workers, NY State Chapter
• National Lawyers Guild, New York City Chapter
• New York University Post-Doctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis
• William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis & Psychology
• National Physicians Alliance
• American Medical Student Association
• Committee of Interns and Residents
• The Legal Aid Society
• DC-37, New York City’s Largest Public Employee Union
• 1199SEIU, United Healthcare Workers East

Human Rights Organizations

• Center for Constitutional Rights
• Physicians for Human Rights
• Human Rights Watch
• Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School
• New York Civil Liberties Union
• The Fortune Society
• Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition
• I Have A Dream Foundation, New York Metro Area
• Human Rights First
• New York State Defenders Justice Fund
• Gay Men’s Health Crisis

Religious Organizations

• New York Province of the Society of Jesus
• Metro New York Religious Campaign Against Torture
• The American Friends Service Committee
• Catholic Migration Office

In some states, anyone can file a complaint against health professionals licensed in that state.

Against psychologists licensed in New York

The NY Department of Education’s Office of Professional Discipline (OPD) is the agency charged with investigating and prosecuting professional misconduct of psychologists and all other non-medical health professionals.

NY State Psychology Laws, Rules and Regulations

NY State Psychology Board

Complaint Form

Instructions for Filing a Complaint

Complete a complaint form and send directly to the regional office nearest you or fax it to the main professional discipline office at 212-951-6537.  To speak with someone first, call the complaint hotline at 1-800-442-8106, contact the nearest regional office, or e-mail conduct@mail.nysed.gov for more information.

OPD confirms that the professional’s guilt need not be proven at the outset:

If you think you may have been the victim of professional misconduct, file a complaint form. The Office of the Professions will look into the complaint and determine if misconduct has occurred.

Following Up on a Complaint

[After you file a complaint,] [s]taff in the appropriate regional office follow up on each complaint. Members of the State Board for the profession may be consulted during the investigation. If substantial evidence of misconduct is found, we will pursue disciplinary action. Cases of illegal (unlicensed) practice may be handled administratively, or they may be referred after investigation to the State Attorney General for criminal prosecution. …

You may contact the investigator assigned to your complaint at any time during the investigation to learn about the status of your complaint. You will also be informed if the complaint has been referred for further action. …

Almost all investigations are completed within 9 months or less. The time needed to prosecute cases varies, although many cases are concluded through negotiated settlements. Complicated cases may take 2 years or more (from initial complaint to final action) to resolve. If you file a professional misconduct complaint, you will be informed of the status of your complaint and the final outcome.

Disciplinary Actions

… Minor forms of misconduct may be handled through advisory letters or administrative warnings issued by the Office of the Professions; these administrative actions are confidential. The penalties for more serious misconduct range from a fine to the revocation of the license to practice, in accordance with the nature of the misconduct and its consequences. The Board of Regents, which oversees the State Education Department and its Office of the Professions, reviews and takes final action on the most serious professional discipline cases.

If the disciplined professional’s license to practice has not been revoked or suspended, the Office of the Professions may monitor the professional to ensure that probationary terms–such as periodic employer reports or retraining courses–are met.

…  With limited exceptions, individuals who have surrendered their licenses or had their licenses revoked must wait at least three years to apply for license restoration. While the Board of Regents has the authority to restore a professional license, such restoration is not a right. The former licensee must prove that he or she is worthy of the privilege of having a professional license.

Professional Misconduct

Professional misconduct is the failure of a licensed professional to meet expected standards of practice.  The Board of Regents, which licenses individuals in 48 professions defined in Education Law, is responsible for the final disposition of all disciplinary matters. You may search our site by name or by month of action for summaries of final disciplinary actions.

Professional misconduct is defined in Education Law and in the Rules of the Board of Regents.  See list of relevant laws and regulations here. Professional misconduct includes the following:

• Engaging in acts of gross incompetence or gross negligence on a single occasion, or negligence or incompetence on more than one occasion
• Permitting or aiding an unlicensed person to perform activities requiring a license
• Refusing a client or patient service because of race, creed, color, or national origin
• Practicing beyond the scope of the profession
• Releasing confidential information without authorization
• Being convicted of a crime
• Failing to return or provide copies of records on request
• Being sexually or physically abusive
• Abandoning or neglecting a patient in need of immediate care
• Performing unnecessary work or unauthorized services …

A range of penalties that includes censure and reprimand, fines (up to $10,000 for each violation), suspensions and/or probationary terms may be imposed on licensees who have committed misconduct. The Board of Regents takes final action on the most serious cases of misconduct. In severe cases of misconduct, the Regents may revoke the professional’s license. Information on uncontested determinations in which a licensee has been assessed a fine for committing an infraction of a minor and technical nature are available by phone: 518-474-3817, fax: 518-474-1449 or e-mail: op4info@mail.nysed.gov, or by writing to the Office of the Professions.

**

For information on how to file a complaint against physicians, physician assistants and specialist assistants, see the NY Department of Health’s Office of Professional Medical Conduct and Physician Discipline (OPMC).

• reaffirms state jurisdiction over its licensees
• incorporates internationally accepted definitions of  torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (CIDT)
• explicitly prohibits active and passive participation in torture or CIDT
• bans health professionals from participating in interrogations altogether and
• ensures that the reporting of abuse is mandatory.

Stronger laws stand a better chance of:

• providing support for health professionals inclined to report or refuse to participate in prisoner abuse
• deterring health professionals from participating in prisoner abuse and
• sending a clear message to the state boards that it is their obligation to enforce the laws and regulations that govern health professional licensees.

Support pending legislation in New York!

Gottfried-Duane Bill to Stop Health Professional Participation in Torture

• Sponsor’s memo
• Full text of the bill
• Press release on favorable reporting by the NY State Assembly’s Higher Education Committee

New York residents:

• Click here to send an email to your Assemblymember and State Senator, asking them to support Bill A6665 (Assembly) and Bill S4495 (State Senate)
• Directory of NY State Assemblymembers
• Directory of NY State Senators

Organizations:

• Submit a letter of support (template coming soon)