Medical Committee for Human Rights (MCHR)
The Medical Committee for Human Rights (MCHR) was an organization formed in 1964 to support civil rights activists during Mississippi's Freedom Summer. It was made up of health care professionals who provided medical support and aid for civil rights workers at marches and demonstrations and aimed to raise public awareness of discrimination and inequity within health care systems.
With the MCHR, Dr. Fine provided medical support during the Third World Liberation Front Strike at San Francisco State University, the Altamont music festival, and the Alcatraz Indian Occupation among other events.
One of the goals of the MCHR was accessible health care for all - in order to achive this the MCHR emphasized educating those whom the healthcare system worked against. They published booklets such as Your Rights as a Hospital Patient (1975) which states in its introduction:
"HEALTH!!! It's something that everybody wants, but it isn't easy to come by. Our health is affected by many things: the air we breathe, the jobs we have, the food we eat, where we live, the healthcare we receive....This book can only focus on health care. The importance of high quality medical care cannot be overstated. Health facilities must be available where we can get to them, and the care we get must be technically good. However, good care involves more than just technology; we need emotional support, respect, dignifies treatment, and explanations about what is happening to us so that we can understand and make decisions about our own bodies. [...]