Over a thousand psychiatrists in 1964 said Barry Goldwater was unfit to be Presiden of the United States.

“The Goldwater rule is Section 7 in the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Principles of Medical Ethics, which states that psychiatrists have a responsibility to participate in activities contributing to the improvement of the community and the betterment of public health, and when they are asked to comment on public figures, they refrain from diagnosing, which requires a personal examination and consent. It is named after former US Senator and 1964 presidential nominee Barry Goldwater.

“The issue arose in 1964 when Fact magazine published “The Unconscious of a Conservative: A Special Issue on the Mind of Barry Goldwater”. This title played on the title of US Senator Barry Goldwater’s bestseller The Conscience of a Conservative. The magazine polled psychiatrists about Goldwater and whether he was fit to be president. Goldwater sued magazine editor Ralph Ginzburg and managing editor Warren Boroson, and in Goldwater v. Ginzburg (July 1969) received damages totaling $75,000 ($599,000 today)

Section 7.3 then states:

On occasion psychiatrists are asked for an opinion about an individual who is in the light of public attention or who has disclosed information about himself/herself through public media. In such circumstances, a psychiatrist may share with the public his or her expertise about psychiatric issues in general. However, it is unethical for a psychiatrist to offer a professional opinion unless he or she has

conducted an examination

and

has been granted proper authorization for such a statement…”

[Assuming these conditions are met and it is not merely political, there is a “duty to warn” if a politician’s mental health may present a threat to the public — SH]

“A duty to warn is a concept that arises in the law of torts in a number of circumstances, indicating that a party will be held liable for injuries caused to another, where the party had the opportunity to warn the other of a hazard and failed to do so.”— Wikipedia, Goldwater Rule.