Doctors in British Columbia recently passed a resolution at a meeting of their provincial medical association calling for a ban on mixed martial arts fights in Canada. They plan on taking this resolution to the annual general meeting of the Canadian Medical Association later this month. If it’s passed, members will begin lobbying the federal government for a national ban on the full contact combat sport. 

There is a great deal of irony in doctors proposing a national ban on a sport because of concerns over injuries and safety. Just ask the survivors of life-threatening injuries received in Canadian hospitals. According to The Canadian Adverse Events Study published in 2004, the national rate of adverse events is estimated to be 185,000 in almost 2.5 million annual hospital admissions. Close to 70,000 of these adverse events are preventable with the rate of preventable deaths reaching upwards of 24,000 annually.  

The British Columbia Medical Association could gain more fans by throwing in the towel on its proposed ban against mixed martial arts fights and attending to the safety issues in its own professional arena.