Gleason v. Carlson

92 F. Supp. 280, 1948 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1992
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedDecember 9, 1948
DocketCiv. No. 3252
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 92 F. Supp. 280 (Gleason v. Carlson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gleason v. Carlson, 92 F. Supp. 280, 1948 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1992 (D. Kan. 1948).

Opinion

HUXMAN, Circuit Judge.

I desire to set out the grounds on which I concur in the judgment of the court.

This is an action under Section 266 of the Judicial Code, 28 U.S.C.A. § 380, now 28 U.S.C.A. § 2281, to enjoin defendants, the Governor and Attorney General of the State of Kansas, from the enforcement of the restrictions contained in Sections 65-1201 and 65-1005, Kansas Statutes 1935, in so far as they apply to plaintiffs. Plaintiffs are licensed osteopaths under the laws of Kansas and bring this action for themselves and in behalf of all osteopathic physicians in Kansas. It is their claim that ■the above sections of the Kansas Statutes, as interpreted by the Kansas Supreme Court, are void and in violation of Section 1 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States for the reason that plaintiffs are prohibited from using drugs and operative surgery in their practice of osteopathy notwithstanding that they are required to study and qualify.themselves in the use of drugs and the practice of surgery. This, they claim, deprives them of liberty and property without due process of law.

While it is not directly so stated in the Kansas Statutes, the Kansas Supreme Court has declared on several occasions and interpreted the applicable statutes to mean that persons licensed to practice medicine and surgery may use drugs and operative surgery, while those licensed to practice osteopathy are prohibited from practicing medicine and surgery. Under ■ this construction, certain of the plaintiffs have been enjoined by the Kansas Court from the use of drugs and operative surgery. Plaintiffs, both by evidence and argument, point to their educational qualifications, to the standards of osteopathic colleges generally, the training'received by osteopaths in comparison to that of doctors of medicine and surgery and the scope of the examination [281]*281given osteopaths by the State Osteopathic Board. Generally plaintiffs assert that they study the use of drugs and the performance of surgery in their schools to the same extent that medical students do in medical schools and that upon graduation they are qualified in these branches of the healing art to the same extent as are graduates from medical schools. They, therefore, contend that the restrictions placed upon them by the Kansas Statutes and decisions of its courts are unreasonable, arbitrary, detrimental to the public health, an unreasonable exercise of the police power, discriminatory, and in violation of Section 1 of the 14th Amendment.

In our Findings, we have found that as of 1913, the course of study in osteopathic schools did not include a study of materia medica and pharmacology, but that in other respects the course of study in osteopathic schools with regard to the use of drugs and performance of surgery was substantially the same as that in medical schools, the pedagogy differing only in emphasis, intensity and degree.

As I view the problem, the decision does not turn upon whether the use of drugs and surgery was a part of the original osteopathic concept or was subsequently engrafted upon it, in order to make osteopathy a complete unit of the healing art. Nor does the decision turn upon whether the training in the use of drugs and surgery as taught in reputable osteopathic schools is or is not the equivalent of that taught in accredited medical schools. For the purpose of this opinion, I will, therefore, assume that the use of drugs and surgery was a part of the original osteopathic concept and that reputable osteopathic schools teach surgery and the use of drugs to the same extent that these subjects are taught in accredited medical schools.

The power of this court to strike down legislation by a state regulating the practice of the healing art, is a narrow one. It is well settled that the police power of the state extends to the regulation of certain trades and callings, particularly those which closely concern the public health.1 Practitioners of the healing art are properly subject to police regulations, the details of which are primarily with the legislature and are not to be interfered with by federal courts so long as fundamental, constitutional rights are not violated.2 Equal protection of the laws does not preclude states from resorting to classification for various purposes of legislation.3 The legislature has the power to classify, and narrow distinctions will justify classification in legislation if they are reasonably related to the objects of legislation.4

In pursuance of this power, Kansas has seen fit to differentiate between the treatment of human ills through the use of drugs and surgery and the treatment of such ills by means of manipulative therapy. In regulating the practice of the two branches of the healing art, different educational requirements are made for each. The examinations given to applicants of each class are distinguishable under the pertinent statutes designed to insure qualified, licensed practitioners in each of the two fields. The statute regulating the examination of medical doctors, Section 65-1001, Kansas Statutes, 1947 Supplement, provides in part, as follows: “All persons intending to practice medicine or surgery after the passage of this act * * * shall apply to said board (Board of Medical Registration and Examination) at any regular meeting, or at any other time or place as may be designated by the board for a license. Application shall be made in writing and shall be accompanied by the fee hereinafter specified, together with the age and residence of the applicant, proof that he is of good moral character and satisfactory evidence that he has devoted not less than * * * four periods of not less than six months each * * * to the study of medicine and surgery. All such applicants, except as here[282]*282inafter provided, shall submit to an examination of a character to test their qualifications as practitioners of medicine or surgery, and which shall embrace all those topics and subjects a knowledge of which is generally required by reputable medical colleges of the United States for the degree of doctor of medicine * *

These are the only statutory educational requirements for the practice of medicine and surgery. However, pursuant to Section 74-1001, Kansas Statutes 1935, which provides that the Medical Board shall formulate rules to govern its procedure, the Kansas Court in Jones v. Kansas State Board of Medical Registration and Examination, 111 Kan. 813, 208 P. 639, held that this provision gave authority for the Board to make rules and regulations increasing the statutory qualifications. The present rule of the Board is as follows: “General Qualifications. The applicant must meet the following requirements: 1. A citizen of the United States. 2. Possessed of good moral character, willing to abide by the principles of medical ethics adopted by the American Medical Association. 3. Possessed of the minimum preliminary educational qualifications following: (a) A graduate of a four-year high school course, (b) All graduates subsequent to 1914 must have had at least two years attendance in a college of liberal arts, (c) A graduate of a reputable medical school. Reputable medical college shall be any medical college in the United States classed as an approved medical school by the American Medical Association. This board, however, reserves the right to add to or take from the accredited list of American Medical Association by a majority vote of the members of this board.”

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Related

State ex rel. Schneider v. Liggett
576 P.2d 221 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1978)
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122 F. Supp. 115 (E.D. Arkansas, 1954)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
92 F. Supp. 280, 1948 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1992, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gleason-v-carlson-ksd-1948.