Saturday, January 7, 2017

Boston Globe Editorial: Don't License Naturopaths

here, sound advice from the Boston Globe:

001. at bostonglobe.com, we're told in the editorial "Baker Should Veto Naturopath Licensing Bill" (2017-01-07) :

"one of the many bills that landed on [governor] Charlie Baker’s desk this week [...is] a measure that would create a state licensing board for naturopaths [...] critics warn that some naturopathic advice is unproven scientifically [...] while a state licensing board might weed out dangerous practices, it would also put the state in the position of differentiating between good and bad pseudoscience [...] there is scant clinical evidence that many [naturopathic] treatments are medically effective [...and] some are potentially dangerous [...e.g.] homeopathic treatments [...] critics like Britt Marie Hermes, a former practitioner, says her courses lacked the rigor of medical school [...] she adds: 'naturopaths are not doctors . . . they also want to practice essentially witchcraft [...] until there are data to back up the broad claims made by naturopaths, Baker should veto the bill [...]"; 

hear, hear.  But, what is "good" pseudoscience?  An oxymorony...

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