Herbie G. McMennamy, DC was elected TSCA state secretary in 1970 and would become the first female president in 1972 . In 1971, Dr. H. H. Kennedy suggested that if the ladies auxiliary saw fit to establish an award comparable to the Keeler Plaque, he would personally bear its cost. Recognizing an opportunity of merit, the ladies responded by establishing the Kennedy Award in 1971.
Chiropractic in Texas continued to be active. In 1973 the Texas State Chiropractic Association changed its name to the Texas Chiropractic Association and was instrumental in developing an Insurance equality law to require services for one type of provider to be covered for all provider types qualified to render such services. Chiropractic also lobbied for Chiropractic inclusion in Medicare for many years and when success came in 1973 the vote of the Texas delegation was significant in its passage. Bob D. Glaze, DC, was appointed Medicare Consultant for Blue Cross-Blue Shield and participated in its formative guidelines of participation.
In 1975 Saigon fell and the Vietnam War ended. Mr. Ray Lemmon was hired as the TCA’s first full time lobbyist. Anti-trust litigation was filed by chiropractors against the American Medical Association on October 12, 1976. The Official History Of Chiropractic in Texas, by Walter R. Rhodes is published by the Texas Chiropractic Association in 1977. That same year the first mass-produced personal computers were introduced, Elvis Presley died, and the American Medical Association, in their policy meetings held in Chicago, March 12, 1977 reluctantly made three major changes. The first change allowed the referral of patients between chiropractors and medical doctors; the second change allowed specialists within both professions to consult with each other concerning a particular patient; and the third allowed medical doctors to engage in any teaching for which they are qualified which, translated properly, meaning they could be employed as teachers in chiropractic colleges as in decades past. These changes were not as whole-hearted and voluntary as would be ideal, coming as a result of the anti-trust litigation filed by chiropractors in 1976.
In 1979 Senator J.P. Word hired to assist the TCA in their lobbying efforts. In 1980 the eruption of Mount St. Helens occurred, and in 1981, the first orbital flight of the Space Shuttle and the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer occurred.
In 1983 the U.S. Embassy in Beirut was bombed and the first 3000 chiropractic licenses in Texas had been issued. In 1984 the membership of the Texas Medical Association had grown significantly and the TMA became the third largest medical association in the United States.
In 1985 the first 4000 chiropractic licenses had been issued and in 1986 Halley’s Comet made its return in an unspectacular fashion. After filing the lawsuit in 1976, the antitrust lawsuit against the American Medical Association and others was decided when in 1987 when on September 25, 1987, Judge Getzendanner issued her opinion that the AMA had violated Section 1, but not 2, of the Sherman Act, and that it had engaged in an unlawful conspiracy in restraint of trade “to contain and eliminate the chiropractic profession." (Wilk v. American Medical Ass'n, 671 F. Supp. 1465, N.D. Ill. 1987). She further opined that the “AMA had entered into a long history of illegal behavior." And, she then issued a permanent injunction against the AMA under Section 16 of the Clayton Act to prevent such future behavior. This was not yet the end of the matter, however.
Appeals of the Judge’s decision commenced and while in 1989 the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Tiananmen Square Massacre in China, the end of Soviet–Afghan War, the fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie, and the Exxon Valdez oil spill captivated the world, by 1990 the first 5000 chiropractic licenses had been issued, and the first Gulf War began, and Judge Getzendanner’s district court decision was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals on February 7, 1990, and though the AMA petitioned for a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court three times, each time the Court denied their appeals. Following a decade of litigation, the Seventh Circuit Court upheld the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Getzendanner that the AMA had engaged in a “lengthy, systematic, successful and unlawful boycott” designed to restrict cooperation between MDs and chiropractors in order to eliminate the profession of chiropractic as a competitor in the U.S. health care system. The courts finally legally recognized the anti-trust violations that chiropractors had been experiencing for well over 80 years.
In 1991, Sen. J. P. Word was hired as the full time executive director of the TCA following the death of Executive Director, H. Ford Johnson. By the end of 1992 there were 31,973 members of the TMA. In contrast in 1991 the first 6000 chiropractic licenses had been issued since 1949. Following the guidelines established by the American Medical Association in 1903, the nearly 32,000 members of the medical association are organized into a basic unit of organization – the local medical society, which enrolls members from one or more counties. In 1992 there were 119 of these societies, each separately chartered by the state.
In 1993 the first World Trade Center bombing was attempted and 86 people were left dead after the Waco siege ended after a 51-day standoff. In 1995 American terrorist Timothy McVeigh bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
By 1996 the first 7000 chiropractic licenses had been issued. In 1998 the first 8000 chiropractic licenses had been issued, and Osama bin Laden published a fatwa against the West. Sen J. P. Word retires and Des Taylor was hired as the Executive Director and legal counsel of TCA. He resigns and in 1999 Charlie Hester was hired as Executive Director of TCA and TCA offices are moved to Brazos St. in downtown Austin. Shortly thereafter he leaves and Patte Kent, former Executive Director of the Texas Board of Chiropractic Examiners, is hired as the Executive Director of the TCA.
At the conclusion of the 20th century the International Space Station begins operations, and Former Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives Gib Lewis becomes Chief Lobbyist for the chiropractors of Texas. Though the early years of the 20th century mark the beginnings of both medical education and licensure as we know it today, it is still true that only a person who graduates from an acceptable school is permitted to apply for a medical license. The physician who is licensed under a medical practice act is permitted to practice medicine in that state, and that practice is virtually unlimited in scope. However, the unlicensed practitioner can be punished by fine and imprisonment. As the 21st century dawns organized medicine would attempt to have limited license practitioners punished as well.
