On November 10, the American Medical Association (AMA) voted to oppose both the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy and same-sex marriage bans in the U.S., asserting they were harmful to the physical health of LGBT individuals.
According to the AMA, DADT harms homosexuals in the military by forcing them to lie to their physicians in order to keep their job. Dr. David Fassler, a psychiatry professor at the University of Vermont, explained the decision, “A law which makes people lie to their physicians is a bad law.” We will refrain from commenting on the broader implications of such a ridiculous statement.
The AMA also asserted that same-sex marriage bans endanger the health of homosexuals by denying same-sex families the same benefits given married couples—benefits such as health insurance, social security and retirement benefits. The absence of such benefits, according to the AMA, could put the health of homosexual individuals and their partners at risk.
It is yet to be seen how the AMA’s new position will impact President Obama’s efforts to overturn DADT, but pro-family lobbyists are rightly concerned. The AMA’s recent endorsement of the new health care legislation was seen by most as a huge boost to the efforts to overhaul healthcare. However, the connection between military policy and homosexual health, or marriage law and homosexual health for that matter, seems a bit less tangible (and less credible), which might diminish the political sway of the association’s edict.