By a vote of 136-458, the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association shut down a call to debate a resolution to support a ceasefire in Gaza, with the reasoning that it did not meet criteria of advocacy, urgency or ethical consideration.
They claimed geopolitical issues are beyond their purview. However, the AMA is the largest coalition of physicians in the U.S. and has long engaged in international health policy and advocacy.
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In spring 2022, the AMA rightfully issued a strongly worded statement in response to the Russian military targeting health care facilities, stating it “violates every standard of decency. We join physicians everywhere — and especially in Ukraine — who are calling for an end to this war so we can work on healing the terrible damage already inflicted.”
As a physician and a person of conscience, I see a glaring double standard and undoubted hypocrisy in the AMA refraining from making a similar statement about Palestinians in Gaza, where the WHO has recorded at least 137 Israeli attacks on health care facilities.
Our colleagues are heroes facing death inside hospitals amid insurmountable danger from Israeli airstrikes, tanks and snipers in and around them. The medical director of Al-Shifa Hospital, Dr. Nidal Hardous, wrote, “We might not survive until morning. We don’t want to be killed here. … I am calling for help urgently.”
Soon after this plea, telecommunications from Gaza were cut off. We must respond to our colleagues’ pleas for help and advocate for their safety. Legal experts from the Center for Constitutional Rights have described what is happening in Gaza right now as an “unfolding genocide against the Palestinian people.”
It does not get more urgent than this. We cannot fail at this moment to equitably commit to advocating for the protection of patients and medical staff. An open letter was sent to the AMA this past week on behalf of thousands of concerned members, urging them to reconsider their stance.
We urge the AMA to support a cease-fire, as well as the entry of unrestricted aid into Gaza, and the safe passage of humanitarian and medical staff in sync with the pleas of physicians on the ground and many human rights organizations. I ask members of the AMA House of Delegates, “If it was you in those hospitals, what would you hope your international physician community would do to protect you?”
Dana Elborno, MD, Chicago-area physician
‘All about the kids?’
As Democrats and the Chicago Teachers Union celebrate the elimination of the Invest in Kids scholarship program, aren’t these the same folks who always say “it’s all about the kids?” What hypocrisy.
William Choslovsky, Sheffield Neighbors
Commuting costs don’t add up
While reading the article “Commuters Rack Up Costs” I was surprised to learn the annual report had been compiled by a teleconferencing services company. Not the most unbiased source I could think of.
I’m not going to debate how many commuters don’t buy breakfast or brown-bag their lunch, offsetting these commuter costs, but $20 a day for pet care was too far-fetched.
I’m sure office-building owners would like to say the walk to and from the train station saves the commuter from expensive gym memberships, that energy costs are saved when they don’t have to heat or air condition their homes while they are away for the day, or even the mental health care savings when not paying for therapy to alleviate feelings of isolation created while working alone from home.
Al “Boo” Chaps, Beverly
