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Why doesn't the AMA want doctors to see this ad?[/color]
<img src="http://herballure.com/Images/Misc/avn_ad.jpg">
Bill Statham, author of The Chemical Maze Shopping Companion and the Chemical Maze Bookshelf Companion - fantastic reference books on the additives and chemicals in foods and personal care/cleaning products - came forward a couple of weeks ago and kindly donated the funds needed for the AVN to place the above ad in the NSW Doctor magazine.
This magazine is publised by the AMA (Australian Medical Association) and reaches every doctor in NSW - the first state in Australia to mandate full vaccination for all medical professionals and students who work out of the hospital system.
The magazine accepted our booking form, took down our credit card details and then, only days later, wrote to tell us that:
I refer to your request to place an advertisement inThe NSW Doctor.
The AMA (NSW) Editorial Committee must approve of all new advertisements that are submitted for placement inThe NSW Doctor.
The Committee has decided not to accept your advertisement.
Please be assured that the credit card details provided have not, and will not, be accessed.
Laurie Pincott
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Medical Association (NSW) Ltd
PO Box 121 St Leonards NSW 1590
Phone: (02) 9439 8822 Fax: (02) 9439 8822
When we questioned the AMA as to what possible reason they could have for rejecting our ad (especially considering the fact they hadn't even SEEN it yet), they told us that the decision was made after checking our website and finding out that we only had one medical practitioner listed amongst our Professional Members.
As if that were really an excuse!
After contacting the Australian Press Council, the Advertising Standards Bureau and finally, the ACCC, we were told that there was nothing we could do and that they have the right to reject advertising for any reason they could possibly think of. Upon consideration, I thought of a few of those possible reasons:
1- The AMA is an industry body which gets a lot of its funding from pharmaceutical companies who have been pushing long and hard for mandating vaccines. Therefore, it would not be in their financial interest to have an educated and informed medical community - least of all in regards to this issue.
2- The NSW Doctor's advertising list is made up almost exclusively of pharmaceutical companies. Therefore, the magazine could stand to lose quite a bit of advertising revenue if they were to run our ad. (one of the reasons why Informed Voice never has and never will link advertising with editorial nor will we run advertorials - it totally destroys the credibility of a publication!)
3- The AMA not only cooperated with, but helped in the drafting of the policy which requires vaccination for health professionals. Therefore, it would be contradictory for them to actually let health professionals know about their rights when it comes to getting vaccinated.
Bill Statham has kindly extended the offer to take the funds from the NSW Doctor ad and apply them to an ad in the Lamp magazine, the publication of the Nurse's Union - another body which was actively involved in drafting this mandatory vaccination policy. I don't know if we will be any luckier there but we will certainly give it our best shot.
In the meantime, please send this email out to as many people as you possibly can and, if possible, send a copy to your local media outlets to let them know that the AMA is actively censoring the information doctors are getting and that their own financial interests come well before the interests of their members.
Why not pay a visit to our website
www.avn.org.au - and go to the link where we have uploaded a printable petition to try and gather names of those who are opposed to this policy. You can reach this directly at
http://www.avn.org.au/index_files/MandVaccAppeal_Mar07.pdf. We also have a live version of this petition. Please fill in your details on line and forward this link to anyone and everyone you can think of -
http://www.petitiononline.com/avnivm/petition.htmlMake a stand!
Perhaps it is time for freedom-loving doctors and nurses to take a stand on this issue, no matter what their personal opinion is on the relative benefits and risks of vaccination, and contact these organisations to say they will stop paying their membership fees and/or union dues if both sides are not covered in the publications that are published and distributed to these respective organisations?
Perhaps it is also time for those who will be the most affected - the nursing and medical students, the doctors, nurses, occupational and physical therapists, the laundry and kitchen staff of hospitals - to do something to protect their own rights. Let them join with the AVN in fighting against this injustice. Through their support, financial, active and moral, they can ensure that others will not have to face the specture of deciding between their job and their health.
Just a few stories from the last few days that I can share with you:
1- I received a phone call from Brigitte Harvey (refer to your past issues of Informed Voice for her full story) - the nursing sister and student who won against the Hunter Valley Health Department and was allowed to do her practical work in hospital without any ramifications (after a very long fight and going to the media with her story). Brigitte has now been called into the matron's office and told that she has until November to get fully vaccinated or she is out of a job! She works with another sister who has an anaphylactic allergy to egg products - the MMR, Flu and TB vaccines all contain egg material. This nurse has been told that she needs to get the shots anyway and that they will vaccinate her in a hospital setting. I'm sure she will find that a great comfort when she is lying on the floor of the hospital, unable to breathe and losing consciousness!
2- A nursing sister in Victoria contacted me about a week ago to say that he was getting very nervous about the situation requiring vaccination. It is not yet mandatory in Victoria but he saw the writing on the wall. A few days later, he wrote back to say - "Don't worry about it. I have been told that the Victorian Health Department is holding off on implementing this policy until they see what happens in NSW." Well! If people like this nurse - who will be directly and immediately affected should this policy come into being - don't do anything now to stop it, it is only a matter of time before they will also be looking down the barrel of a syringe which is aimed fairly and squarely at them.
3- This morning, we received a very, very generous donation from someone in Portugal - yes, Portugal! Now this person is not affected by this policy nor does he have anyone in his family who is affected. He heard about this via Philip Day's E-Club newsletter and felt that it was very important to help preserve the rights of Australians and so, he has given us a donation to help keep us going! You see, this is an issue that transcends political ideals, medical dogma and just about any other restriction you might want to think of. It is a matter of civil rights and the right to choose - plain and simple.
I hope that those of you who have not yet donated or become involved with this issue will do so now. Give where you can, tell others about this situation - especially nurses, doctors and those who will be affected, and if you are not yet a member or subscriber, please do consider joining now.
Until the next time - yours in health,
Meryl Dorey