My arrest in support of Extinction Rebellion: the imperative for action

Abstract

Parliament Square on Oct 31, 2018, was unexpectedly crowded. Together with Charlie Parselle, a lawyer I met on the first day at our secondary school in 1955, I had been pushing for action on global heating for 30 years. Despite the efforts of numerous agencies and individuals, we have seen science ignored and ecological devastation proceed apace. Politicians, in thrall to vested interest, seemed incapable of implementing the requisite transformational action, instead persuading their electorates that growth at all costs is imperative. Global heating was relegated to secondary importance, scarcely mentioned in public discourse. Both of us knew we had to do more, and we were energised to do so by Greta Thunberg initiating the schoolchildren's climate strikes. Fortuitously, we heard of Extinction Rebellion, a non-violent, direct action group whose three demands are for governments to tell the truth about the ecological crisis we face, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025, and to refresh democracy by developing citizens' assemblies. On that day in October, we were in Parliament Square in London, UK, to join the inaugural meeting of Extinction Rebellion. Doctors and civil disobedienceCivil disobedience—a public, non-violent action in breach of the law aimed at changing the law or policies of a government—is not a typical tool of the medical trade. But frustration with inaction on the global climate emergency has galvanised doctors and other health professionals to join public protests, some of which have involved breaking the law, thus incurring considerable personal and professional risk. Robin Stott, in an Essay this week, describes his experience of arrest during an Extinction Rebellion protest in London, highlighting how a duty of care can compel one to act disobediently in the clear interest of public health. Full-Text PDF