We have launched a call to action to #AbandonAMA, urging individuals to renounce their support for the American Medical Association (AMA).
What has led to this stark shift in sentiment towards an organization that has long been regarded as a pillar of the medical community?
The AMA, an influential medical association in the United States, has come under scrutiny for its troubling history marred by racism, oppression, and complicity in acts of genocide. Despite its esteemed position in the healthcare sector, the AMA's past actions and policies have raised serious questions about its commitment to equity and ethical practices.
We affirm that the American Medical Association doesn’t deserve your time or money! This bold statement encapsulates the sentiments of many who have delved into the AMA's past dealings. From supporting discriminatory practices in healthcare, and actively lobbying against initiatives that promote inclusivity to staying silent during the Palestinian genocide, the AMA's history is deeply intertwined with systemic racism and oppression. Explore and assess the history of racism from 1894 - present in our timeline below.
American Medical Association's Timeline of Racist Practices
1894
The Journal of the American Medical Association helped erect a statue of Dr. J Marion Sims. Dr. Sims is best known for his experimentation on enslaved Black women without anesthesia.
1910
The AMA funded the Flexner Report in 1910. It was a document intended to standardize medical practices. In actuality, the report was designed to exclude Black doctors from medicine and caused the closure of 5 Black medical colleges.
Flexner Report is estimated to have contributed to the loss of 10,000 to 30,000 Black doctors and called for Black doctors to treat only Black patients to " increase scientific accuracy" in which the exclusion of Black physicians led to medical mistrust and poorer health outcomes in the Black community.
1939
JAMA approved and published the first report of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment in 1939. Syphilis treatment was intentionally withheld from Black men to study the effects of the disease. More than 25 percent of those enrolled in the study died as a result.
1956
Operation Coffee Cup was a campaign conducted by the American Medical Association during the late 1950s and early 1960s in opposition to the Democrats' plans to extend Social Security to include health insurance for the elderly, later known as Medicare. As part of the plan, doctors' wives would organize coffee meetings to convince acquaintances to write letters to Congress opposing the program. The operation received support from Ronald Reagan, who in 1961 produced the LP record Ronald Reagan Speaks Out Against Socialized Medicine for the AMA, outlining Medicare as socialized medicine.
1963
20 Black and white physicians from the Medical Committee for Human Rights and other prominent white and black organizations picket the AMA annual meeting. The AMA Board of Trustees chairman Hopkins responds that the picketing serves only “to obscure the achievements in medical science being reported at the meeting.”
1965
In order to ensure compliance to Title VI, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare propose requiring physicians receiving federal funds to sign statements of compliance, formally forswearing racially discriminatory practices. There is “bitter” opposition to such a statement within the AMA’s House of Delegates. This “oath of compliance” is regarded by the AMA as excessive, demeaning, and even discriminatory against physicians.
2018
The NRA said doctors should " stay in their lane" regarding gun violence. The AMA stayed silent, but doctors responded. Physicians shared their stories of how gun violence is enmeshed in healthcare.
2021
The editor of JAMA claimed " No physician is racist, so how can there be structural racism in healthcare".
2023
The AMA Statement on Ukraine called for a ceasefire and an end to all attacks on healthcare workers and facilities versus the AMA statement on Palestine called for medical neutrality to be observed.
2024
Healthcare workers for Palestine were called " unwanted guests" when trying to meet with the AMA challenging their complicity in the Palestinian gencide.