Dr. Melvin MorseI thought when President Barack Obama signed the ban on waterboarding, it sent a pretty clear message. Taking an immobilized victim to the brink of drowning is torture, plain and simple. But a couple of parents in Delaware seem to either disagree or just don't care.

Dr. Melvin Morse and his wife Pauline Morse are facing charges for allegedly waterboarding -- get this -- their own daughter. And by daughter, I mean a child who is just 11 years old (they also have a 5-year-old who seems to have escaped the punishment).

The 11-year-old has told police that Dr. Morse, a pediatrician, would hold her head beneath a faucet, forcing water up her nose and across her face -- classic waterboarding techniques. Cops say her mom wouldn't participate, but she wouldn't stop the trauma either.

Ok, now abusing a child is wrong. Period. It doesn't matter how it's done, it's horrific.

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But abusing a child using methods that were actually described by the President of the United States as so heinous they had to be banned? That goes beyond the pale. Waterboarding is so dangerous that the United Nations calls it torture, and calls for rigorous prosecution for anyone practicing it on another human being. People experience a drowning sensation that makes them feel death is imminent, and for some it is ... the process can actually cause what's known as "dry drowning," a death hours after being in water. If they survive, waterboarding victims can still walk away with psychological trauma or even brain damage.

Of course, it can't be coincidence that Dr. Morse is considered an expert (he even showed up on Oprah) in "near death experiences." He's even written two books on it. And what does waterboarding cause, after all? That's right ... near death experiences.

If the allegations against this doctor are true, there is simply no defense for waterboarding his 11-year-old. This is internationally known to be bad. And here we have allegations that someone, a doctor no less, was practicing it in an American home? On a child? Surely the infamy of waterboarding has to be brought in to the courtroom. Unless you've shrouded yourself away from the televisions and the web for decades, surely you've heard how bad this is ... there's no "eh, I didn't realize" defense.

What do you think of the allegations against this doctor?

 

Image via Delaware State Police