Several dozen doctors and medical students will join a road blockade and support demonstration by the action group Extinction Rebellion (XR) on Saturday. This was announced by GP Margarita Vossen, one of the participants, on behalf of the group of XR healthcare workers.
Extinction Rebellion will start on Saturday with a recurring blockade of the A12 to force the Dutch government to stop fossil subsidies. If the activists are removed from the highway by the police, they want to block the A12 again the next day. There will also be a support demonstration on Saturday, which people can participate in if they do not want to block a road themselves. “Around one hundred and fifty healthcare professionals are expected to join, about half of whom are doctors or medical students,” says Vossen. According to her, they are ‘divided between the blockade and the support demonstration.’ There are also nurses, psychologists and pharmacists present.
Duty of care
The healthcare arm of The healthcare professionals say that ‘based on our duty of care, they support XR’s non-violent actions to prevent further health damage due to climate change.’ In the action they want to ‘join forces to keep our most vulnerable patient, the earth, livable.’
Vossen calls it ‘unpalatable that the government has money left over for fossil subsidies, but not for a reduction in VAT on fruit and vegetables to promote the health of my patients.’
