001. pro-naturopathy:
001.a. so, here's the REMOVED pro-naturopathy petition at change.org, titled "Stop the Slander and Misrepresentation of Naturopathic Physicians":
"this petition is intended to stop Britt Marie Hermes from spreading
miscommunication, slander and defamatory harassment of licensed naturopathic physicians.
The public deserves to choose to receive exemplary medical care from licensed
naturopathic physicians. Britt Marie Hermes is a naturopathic physician who briefly
practiced medicine in the United States before locating to Germany. Upon relocation she
has devoted all of her energy and resources to defaming the profession, often singling
out specific naturopathic physicians and violating many US libel laws. However, as a
German resident she is exempt from prosecution, thus not allowing any legal ramifications
for her actions. Recently she posted a Change.org petition that seems to be confusing
licensed naturopathic physicians with other types of alternative medicine providers in
non-licensed states, who (because those states don't have licensing for naturopathic
physicians) can call themselves naturopaths with little or no medical training. This
petition misrepresents and defames licensed and trained naturopathic
physicians. Additionally, many believe Ms. Hermes is possibly receiving compensation to
work against the naturopathic profession under the guise of a trained naturopathic
physician, which misrepresents her financial motivations. Licensed naturopathic physicians
attend a 4-year accredited medical school program with all the same core classes as any
medical school in the United States. Naturopathic physicians are classified as primary
care providers (PCPs) in licensed states, have prescriptive rights in licensed states,
are reimbursed by insurance providers in licensed states and can order life saving labs,
imaging or perform many other diagnostic exams. For more info see the American Association
of Naturopathic Physicians at www.naturopathic.org. Additionally, the website
www.brittmariehermes.com has been compiled to allow links to credible information on the
training and scope of the practice of licensed naturopathic physicians."
this one is no longer up. It was either voluntarily or not-so-voluntarily removed. I just happened to catch it while it was up and didn't see any attribution in terms of authorship. But I think if you compare the language to what's below that follows, you may have your suspicions.
it copiously names someone directly, calls naturopathy exemplary though it is pseudoscience but labels truthful criticism of such misrepresentation and defamation, doesn't mention that she went through all the same stuff as a licensed naturopath and isn't accidentally confusing anything, accuses her of conspiring, refers to the AANP which always falsely postures naturopathy and its components as "science".
and it is NOT COOL to try to passive-aggressively game search engine results by pirating someone's personal name. NOT COOL. And the AANP claims to have an ethical code.
001.b. and here's the CURRENT pro-naturopathy Ryan Cliche authored [he is apparently an MBA not an ND] change.org petition. He is the AANP's Executive Director, and it is titled "Recognize Licensed Naturopathic Physicians for the Safe and Effective Care They Provide":
"this petition is in response to misleading and defamatory statements made in a recent Change.org petition you may have seen: 'naturopaths are not doctors: stop legitimizing pseudoscience.' This petition by a former naturopathic doctor who resides outside of the United States neglects facts and evidence to support her claims. We would like to make clear the following: not all 'naturopaths' are licensed naturopathic physicians. Licensed naturopathic physicians are trained and capable to provide safe and effective care [...] naturopathic physicians are required to graduate from an accredited four-year residential naturopathic medical school and pass an extensive postdoctoral board examination (NPLEX) in order to receive a license. Licensed naturopathic physicians must also fulfill state-mandated continuing education requirements annually, and have a specific scope of practice defined by their state's law. The 'naturopaths are not doctors' petition referenced earlier makes false claims about the training of licensed naturopathic physicians and neglects to cite any credible references. Blog or opinion pieces by advocate groups against naturopathic physicians are not credible references. The rigor of the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME) as an accreditor is recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education [...] we are confident that your due diligence will quickly uncover the truth behind the 'naturopaths are not doctors' petition. Licensed naturopathic physicians are qualified to provide safe and effective care";
so that's: 'we're not pseudoscience' and that such a label is misleading and defamatory and false; refers to a critic indirectly and accuses that critic of not knowing what that critic is talking about; mentions a 'we' and that may be a conspiracy; deflects criticism by basically stating that we're the better trained pseudoscientists/naturopaths; mentions licensure laws but naturopathy is licensed falsehood [laws can be WRONG]; a safe and effective claim x2; mentions accredited and rigorously tested pseudoscience; the CNME as rigorous but my alma mater UB is fully CNME accredited and labels abject nonscience falsely as science; and due diligence but such quickly unravels naturopathy's fairy tales that are NOT truth. Why does naturopathy broadly call what it does effective when its homeopathy is known to completely BOGUS. These people are CRAZY.
002. and, of course, here's the anti-naturopathy petition I signed, also at change.org titled "Naturopaths are Not doctors: Stop Legitimizing Pseudoscience":
"the purpose of this petition is to voice opposition to legitimizing
naturopathy through state licensure and mandated insurance
reimbursement. Naturopaths are attempting to become legally recognized
as 'primary care physicians' in all 50 states and become Medicare
providers. This is a dangerous future. Naturopaths are not trained similar to physicians, nurse
practitioners, or physician assistants. Naturopaths are trained in a
hodgepodge of antiquated methods, mystical theories, and bare-bone
fundamentals of medicine. Naturopathic students are required to master homeopathy, energy
modalities, herbalism, chiropractic-like manipulations, and therapies
involving heat and water. There is a strong emphasis on anti-vaccine
promotion and alternative cancer treatments. This petition concerns naturopaths who graduated from programs
approved by the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education. These
programs are attempting to circumvent comprehensive medical training by
misrepresenting their academic rigor to lawmakers and the public. This is our chance to make a stand against pseudoscience masquerading
as legitimate medicine. Please sign this petition to show your support
for blocking naturopathic licensure, scope of practice expansion, and
inclusion in federal and state health care programs. Naturopaths are not doctors, and they should not be treated as such";
hear, hear. And it looks like there are more critics right now than advocates.
003. my tweet:
