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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	660
Proposal	2012 Platform amendment proposal: Health Care - CA
Presenter	Platform Committee - Sponsored by GPCA
Floor Manager	Tamar Yager
Phase	Closed
Discussion	05/08/2012 - 05/20/2012
Voting	05/21/2012 - 05/27/2012
Result	Failed
Presens Quorum	31 0.6666
Consens Quorum	39 0.6666 of Yes and No Votes

Background

The amendment removes some language and practices that have not yet been proven medically effective by modern science.

1. Big Pharma is one of the most ethically challenged industries in existence, but their ethical problems stem from the hyper-capitalist profit-motive that underpins their operations, not the underlying science. They're rapacious and often put the bottom line before sufferers’ lives. They can skew studies temporarily, but the scientific method, peer-review, media attention, lawsuits, and government regulators catch most of the fraud before it becomes deadly. Recent history is filled with examples of Big Pharma being exposed by science-based studies and journalistic exposes as injuring and killing its customers.

2. Funding for patient care is always being trimmed, so it’s fiscally imprudent to advocate for unproven practices to the detriment of proven ones.

When alternative therapies, folk medicine, and pre-scientific medical practices are shown through the scientific method to be medically effective, then they will automatically be covered by our platform. (For example, judicious use of neti pots, maggot therapy, & leeches have been proven effective in scientific studies)

3. Science-based medicine should be highlighted instead of faith-based medicine.

This is a science plank, not a spiritual plank. Naturopathy talks about an unquantifiable “life force.” Ayurvedic medicine describes “Prana,” an all-encompassing force whose earliest mention is 5,000 years old. The Tao of Chinese medicine highlights 5 elements that correspond to 5 human organs & 5 human orifices in an effort to explain human anatomy & function. The practice of Chinese medicine is based on this Tao, even though it dates from before human anatomy and function was understood.

While we should respect people's spirituality and traditions, we shouldn't shoehorn these unquantifiable beliefs into a medical plank. Other parties do not shoehorn religious beliefs into science planks.

Proposal

Strike the following language from the introduction to the Plank:

Greens support a wide-range of health care services, not just traditional medicine which too often emphasizes “a medical arms race” that relies upon high-tech intervention, surgical techniques and costly pharmaceuticals. Chronic conditions are often best cured by alternative medicine. We support the teaching, funding and practice of holistic health approaches and as appropriate, the use of complementary and alter- native therapies such as herbal medicines, homeopathy, naturopathy, traditional Chinese medicine and other healing approaches.

Replace section e of 1. Single-Payer Health Care, which reads:

e. Primary and preventive care as priorities, including wellness education about diet, nutrition and exercise; Holistic health including homeopathy, naturopathic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, herbalism and medical marijuana;

with the following language:

e. Primary and preventive care as priorities, including wellness education about diet, nutrition and exercise; and medical marijuana;

Resources

IMPLEMENTATION: Approval of this proposal will amend the 2012 Draft Platform, to be presented for approval at the 2012 Presidential Nominating Convention

CONTACT: Jan Martell, co-chair, 919-682-2472, ninth.st@frontier.com
Bruce Hinkforth, co-chair, 262-569-1370, bhinkforth@milwpc.com
Section editor: Jan Martell, ninth.st@frontier.com

References

2010 Platform: http://www.gp.org/committees/platform/2010/index.php
Proposition 636: http://gp.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=636

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