by Dr. Scott Briggs

I know there is so much information about there about COVID-19, treatments and stances. I want to share with all of you my believes and my stance. I am in support of the International Chiropractic Association of Indiana’s recent policy statement which addresses health freedoms. I am happy to discuss my thoughts with individual patients. I still hold firm to the fact that any medical procedure should be an individual choice.

The statement is as follows:

Dr. Selina Sigafoose Jackson, President of the ICA Board stated, “The board of the International Chiropractors Association met face to face in Nashville on August 12, 2021. We devoted a segment of our time together to carefully craft an inspiring, intelligent, and respectful policy statement regarding health freedom and personal choice. We are proud of the work we did together and voted unanimously on the statement to release to our members and chiropractic community.”

The Board determined a health freedom focused policy statement was warranted given current events with government encroachment into the relationship between individuals and their health care provider, and in their health care decision making as well as the use of medical mandates that constrain the practice of doctors of chiropractic and their staffs and limit their clients’ access to care

Components of the policy statement include:

Recognition of our inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and inherent to this is the right of individual healthcare decision making – health freedom.
Per the most important document in medical ethics history, the Nuremberg Code, the voluntary consent of an individual is essential with respect to experimentation.
Every individual must retain their freedom of choice with respect to any healthcare product, therapeutic, procedure, or medication.
The International Chiropractors Association opposes the mandating of any healthcare product, therapeutic, procedure, or medication.
The International Chiropractors Association strongly opposes the use of medical mandates to restrain the trade of doctors of chiropractic and their staff.

The policy continues

Whereas the United States is a nation founded with the recognition of our inalienable
rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and inherent to this is the right of
individual healthcare decision making.
Whereas there are over 70,000 licensed Doctors of Chiropractic in the United States;
Whereas the International Chiropractors Association is the oldest, continuously
functioning professional association representing Doctors of Chiropractic in the United
States;
Whereas, the Nuremberg Code, which is widely regarded as the most important
document in history of ethics in medical research, states the voluntary consent of the
human subject is absolutely essential with respect to experimentation on human
subjects, according to “Fifty Years Later: The Significance of the Nuremberg Code”
published by Shuster in the New England Journal of Medicine1
:
“This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to give
consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free power of
choice, without the intervention of any element of force, fraud, deceit,
duress, overreaching, or other ulterior form of constraint or coercion; and
should have sufficient knowledge and comprehension of the elements of
the subject matter involved as to enable him to make an understanding
and enlightened decision.”
Therefore, be it resolved, that the International Chiropractors Association,
representing healthcare providers, maintains that every individual must retain their
freedom of choice with respect to any healthcare product, procedure, or medication.
Be it further resolved, that the International Chiropractors Association opposes the
mandating of any healthcare product, procedure, or medication.
And be it further resolved; that the International Chiropractors Association strongly
opposes the use of medical mandates that constrain the practice of doctors of
chiropractic and their staffs and limit their clients’ access to care.
As an ICA member, if you are experiencing limitations to your health freedom in the
United States, please contact the ICA at chiro@chiropractic.org
Approved August 12, 2021

1 Shuster E. Fifty years later: the significance of the Nuremberg Code. N Engl J Med. 1997 Nov 13;337(20):1436-
40. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199711133372006. PMID: 9358