About

PSR is a community of physicians, health care professionals, and community members committed to nuclear disarmament, environmental health, and the reduction of violence and its causes.

PSR is the U.S. affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 for its pioneering disarmament initiatives.

PSR/Chicago strives to advance the causes of PSR in Chicago and Illinois and works to:

Voice Our Perspective on local and national PSR issues to the public, our colleagues, the media, and our communities.

Provide Local Programs and devote resources to PSR issues directly affecting the Chicago and Illinois area.

Inform and Educate the medical community and other concerned citizens of the public health threats posed by nuclear weapons, environmental degradation, and interpersonal violence..

Cooperate and Collaborate with other local organizations to advance common objectives related to PSR's mission.

Cultivate New Leaders and provide support to student PSR chapters at five area medical schools.

Understanding that nuclear war continues to be the most acute threat to human life and the global biosphere, PSR reaffirms its commitment of nearly forty years to the elimination of nuclear weapons and the reversal of the arms race and the national budgetary priorities which fuel that race, sacrificing our nation's health, social and economic needs.

With a reduction in East-West tensions, PSR sees a chance for our nation to address more insidious environmental threats to human survival, such as global warming, ozone depletion, toxic chemicals, and the world population explosion.

Recognizing that neglect of social problems and emphasis on militarism has resulted in a crisis of societal violence, PSR also seeks to reverse our domestic arms race and to encourage ways of finding peaceful solutions to interpersonal and local disputes, as well as international conflicts.

VALUES

In the ancient and universal tradition of the physician who promotes healing and seeks truth, members subscribe to the following values:

• That life on Earth is precious, powerful and vulnerable;
• That human life draws vital sustenance and coherence from the ecological and social systems in which it participates;
• That the acquisition and application of scientific knowledge imposes the responsibility to protect life, not to endanger or destroy it;
• That knowledge about global threats results from experience and scientific study including modeling and simulation, which inherently contain uncertainty;
• That the necessary decisions based on such uncertainties must be evaluated in settings open to public review, so that the best possible approaches can be achieved;
• That citizens have a right to informed participation in such decision-making processes made by both government and industry which affect their health, welfare and environment; and
• That our commitment to future generations requires that problems of violence and militarism, global environmental degradation and social and economic inequities be addressed now and not be left as a toxic legacy to be solved by those who follow us.

THEMES

Four major themes infuse the work of PSR:

   1. A commitment to democratic political processes and traditions.
   2. An affirmation of the physician's role as a teacher.
   3. A belief that as physicians and teachers, as we empower our students and patients to choose healthy life-styles and caring interactions, we can also convince people and nations to choose policies which contribute to ourcommon health and security.
   4. Promotion of the physical and psychological health and well-being of humanity.

As individuals and as citizens, we respect and support these tenets of our society: a tolerance for diversity, a capacity to live and let live, an insistence on fairness, and an abiding respect for individual rights.

As members of the medical community committed to the promotion of global health, it is our obligation to share with all of humanity our understanding that eliminating weapons of mass destruction, preserving a sustainable environment and reducing interpersonal violence and its causes are the most realistic strategies for assuring global survival.