Is the American Medical Association Trying to Contain Alternative Health Care?

By Michael Devitt More than 40 years ago, the American Medical Association (AMA) launched its first attack against alternative health care when it formed the Committee on Quackery in November 1963. GA_googleFillSlot("massagetoday_com_Articles_Pages_Rectangle"); The primary objective of the Committee on Quackery was to "contain and eliminate" chiropractic as a recognized health care service in the U.S. (Interestingly enough, the committee's original name was the Committee on Chiropractic, but the name was later changed so as to not lend credibility to the chiropractic profession.) While its efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, the committee's activities are believed to have delayed the full integration of chiropractic into the health care marketplace for several years.1 Now, more than 30 years after the committee was disbanded, and almost 20 years after Judge Susan Getzendanner issued a historic ruling that found the AMA guilty of engaging in a conspiracy to contain and eliminate ...  more