Sign Petition for AMA Disability Advisory Committee!

It's here:

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/creation-of-an-ama-disability-advisory-committee.html

In order to demonstrate to members of the AMA and the medical community at large that a Disability Advisory Committee is a logical and necessary step towards full partnership between consumers and medical service providers, we ask that our community, our allies, and yes! doctors sign this petition.

An AMA Disability Advisory Committee, if it were to be set up as a true partnership between advocates with disabilities and medical professionals, would be a historic first, and hopefully an example for other medical professional organizations to follow.

We in FRIDA know that doctors are concerned about their patients and work hard to care for them, but WE are concerned that doctors are not fully aware of how to work with patients with disabilities and that human rights are being left aside in the name of: benevolent negligence, paternalism, ableism, fear, systemic oppression... Only TOGETHER can we work to educate ourselves about these problems and actively pave a new road for medical progress.

There is much that we can DO. We can educate on awareness and sensitivity. We can advocate for better federal, state and industry policy. We can standardize ethics trainings. We can make hospitals and other medical facilities accessible. We can recognize that what people really want is to choose their lifestyles for themselves...live where they like, move about as they like, socialize with their preferred friends. There are concrete steps that we can take to get out of this HOLE of non-choice, non-voice, non-partnership that exists today.

If you are concerned, please take a moment to sign this petition and speak with any AMA members you may know to explain why we ALL need an AMA Disability Advisory Committee.

FRIDA