Three Canadian medical students wrote a letter to the Canadian Medical Association Journal, describing their vigorous opposition to the victorious war in Iraq.

Even though I know it’s like shooting fish in a barrel, I have to take this on. Herewith, the Letter Itself. (Italicised comments are my own.)

Medical students not mum on Iraq (Phew! I was worried by the deafening silence! I thought maybe, you know, being Med Students, that maybe they were busy STUDYING.)

Liam Brunham*, Patricia Lee and Andrew Pinto

*Second-Year Medical Student, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Second-Year Medical Student, University of Western Ontario, London, Ont.; First-Year Medical Student, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.

Brad Mackay reports in CMAJ News on the muted response of Canadian physicians to the humanitarian catastrophe in Iraq.1 (Decades of torture? State-sponsored rape? Mass pediatric graves? A children's prison? er, no, not that...) However, "mum" hardly describes the activity that took place on Canadian medical school campuses, starting months before the US-led attack on Iraq began. (Thank GOD they managed to find the time, what with all the STUDYING and LIFE SAVING that they had to do. I am particularly inspired by the efforts of Mr. Pinto, a 1st year student. The attack on Iraq started in the spring. Med student activism started "months" before. So he had been a med student for, what 3 months? Four? Phew, U of Toronto must be a REALLY DEMANDING PROGRAM.)

Medical students participated in and led rallies (no!) , vigils (NO!) and discussions (Dear God NOOO! not discussions! I wonder how many Iraqi dissidents were invited to the discussions. Look for the results in "The Journal of N = Zero") of the health consequences of the war in Iraq and have been a significant component of the unprecedented public opposition to this military intervention. (Here again I don't think that by "public", Brunham, Lee, and Pinto mean "Iraqis".) Medical students across Canada initiated a petition voicing opposition to the detrimental health consequences of war in Iraq. This petition eventually reached every medical school in Canada (all 16 schools? My word, what HEROES!) and garnered over 650 signatories.2

Many Canadian physicians understandably feel ill-equipped to address the health consequences of war. (But thank goodness we've got you 3 to show us all the way!) That is why we are encouraging medical schools to incorporate education about human rights and the health effects of war into medical undergraduate curricula. (Ha! HAHAHAHAHAHA! Maybe Mr. Pinto (1st year), Mr. Brunham (2nd year) and Ms. Lee (ditto) should spend more than a few months in med school before redesigning the curriculum.) That is also why organizations like Physicians for Global Survival are so crucial in helping governments to reframe political, economic and military decisions in terms of projected health outcomes. (Outcomes? Compared to what? War = a few thousand dead, mostly Iraqi military. "Peace" = many thousands raped, tortured, mutilated, and terrorized; exclusively innocent civilians. You do the math.)

We continue to endeavour to use medicine as an avenue for peace, (Head down Peace Avenue, cabbie, then take a right onto Freedom Boulevard) and we invite organizations such as the CMA to assess the health consequences of the war in Iraq and to take the position they deem appropriate, as would be done for any other health crisis. (I can think of a health crisis: undereducated "MD" bobos who need a good dose of Iraqi gratitude)

Liam Brunham, Second-Year Medical Student, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC; Patricia Lee, Second-Year Medical Student, University of Western Ontario, London, Ont.; Andrew Pinto, First-Year Medical Student, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ont.

(Paging Dr. Brunham! International Health Crisis on Line 2! Drs. Lee and Pinto - Code Pink! Code Pink! Socialism is experiencing crushing chest pains--p.s. for 1st year Pinto: that's not good)

References

1. Mackay B. MDs mostly mum on Iraq. CMAJ 2003; 168(10):1307.

2. Lee P. An open letter from Concerned Medical Students on Iraq [letter]. CMAJ 2003;168(9): 1115.

Here’s another Reference for you medical fetuses Brunham, Lee, and Pinto: some medical students worth listening to.