Psychiatrists Should Not Attempt to Overturn Elected Government, Warns the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)

TUCSON, Ariz., Jan. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A self-selected committee of psychiatrists led by Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div., is declaring a state of emergency that "could be the end of humankind" requiring the removal of President Donald Trump from office, states the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS).

They are calling for a "neuropsychiatric evaluation"?by force, if necessary, and it seems apparent that they have already arrived at their conclusion, states AAPS executive director Jane M. Orient, M.D.

Dr. Lee has been criticized for allegedly violating the Goldwater Rule articulated by the American Psychiatric Association and recently reaffirmed following the election of President Trump. This prohibits making a diagnosis without personally examining a patient. But she claims that "we are not making a diagnosis" in commenting on the President's alleged "frantic state of mind," Dr. Orient notes. Dr. Lee is editor of The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump.

"The weaponization of psychiatry as a political tool is extremely dangerous," Dr. Orient comments. "The Soviet abuses of psychiatry were possible because of the unchecked power given to an 'expert' elite, and the lack of objective diagnostic criteria for psychiatric illness."

Dr. Lee claims to be able to see things the average person cannot, states Dr. Orient. Dr. Lee also claims that Trump's "madness is catching" and that his followers [nearly half of the U.S. population] have "cult-like characteristics."

Dr. Lee's "insights" themselves need critical scrutiny, Dr. Orient suggests, for example, her assertion that Trump is baiting North Korea into a potential nuclear war. "In fact, it's the other way around. North Korea has been threatening us with its nuclear program for 20 years. Appeasement has obviously not worked."

"Dr. Lee's concerns that a forced examination 'would look too much like a coup' are ironic because the end result would be similar," Dr. Orient states.

"The U.S. Constitution fortunately makes no provision for subjecting election results to a possible veto by academic psychiatrists," Dr. Orient states. "Virtually anyone could be diagnosed as mentally unfit by a politically motivated, non-accountable committee of elite experts. Those who object to Trump's policies should make their case in the political arena, instead of trying to remove him under the disingenuous cloak of their psychiatric credentials."

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is a national organization representing physicians in virtually all specialties and every state. Founded in 1943, AAPS has the motto "omnia pro aegroto," which means "all for the patient."

SOURCE Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS)