How To End the Medical Monopoly

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Misty L. Trepke

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How to end the medical monopoly.

 

http://www.newswithviews.com/Dean/carolyn12.htm

 

LET'S BREAK THE MODERN MEDICAL MONOPOLY NOW!

 

Dr. Carolyn Dean, MD, ND and

Elissa Meininger

September 29, 2005

NewsWithViews.com

 

" People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for

merriment

and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the

public, or in some contrivance to raise prices. " --Adam Smith 1776

 

When I wrote my book, Death by Modern Medicine, detailing the myriad

of

ways modern medicine has failed in its promise to deliver services to

make us well, I was compelled, as a naturopath, to include a copy of

the

Herbalist Charter of King Henry VIII in my book's appendix. While the

language of the Charter is archaic, I would like to outline its

meaning,

as it still figures in the legal standing of natural healers in all

the

dominions that were held by Great Britain in 1512 when the Charter

was

established.

 

Summary of The Herbalist Charter of King Henry VIII:

 

It is well known that the Surgeons who are organized under their

own trade guild and recognized by law, have done nothing but tend to

their own lavish financial enrichment, have done nothing to ease the

distressed patient, but have spent an enormous amount of time suing

and

harassing honest persons who have the knowledge of nature and how to

use

this knowledge, however obtained, and generously minister to the sick.

 

It is also well known that Surgeons will not provide services to

the sick unless they receive great sums of money and even then, often

cause harm to their patients.

For this reason, from this time and forevermore it shall be

lawful

for every person who lives in any part of the Realm of England or any

of its dominions, and who has knowledge and experience of the healing

nature of herbs, roots and waters, or the operation of same, to be

free

to treat the sick without " suit, vexation, trouble, penalty or loss

of

their goods. "

 

Interestingly, in Colonial America, this Charter fit perfectly with

the

general contempt for all " learned professions " the colonists had at

the

time. This contempt was expressed quite clearly by William Byrd when

he

said that founders of New Jersey " inveigled many over " by advertising

that it was a place " free from those three great scourges of Mankind,

Priests, Lawyers and Physicians " . In Colonial America the practice of

medicine was open to everyone and natural healing arts were

particularly

appreciated as well as enhanced by the wisdom and knowledge of the

Indian doctors who very generously shared their knowledge of local

medicinals with the colonists.

 

As a result of this distain for " learned doctors " , at the time of the

American Revolution, few of them had formal degrees. As evidence

these

" unlearned " doctors knew what they were doing, the Pennsylvania

Hospital, founded with the assistance of Benjamin Franklin, could

report half

the mortality rate that general hospitals back in Europe reported.

 

Historian Daniel J. Boostrin, in his classic book, " The Americans:

The

Colonial Experience " devotes a full 50 pages to the state of the

healing arts and the pro-natural healing arts attitudes the colonials

had as

well as their respect for the intelligence of the common man to

understand how learn how to become a doctor of one sort or another.

[1]

 

America's Founding Fathers didn't just establish a competitive

medical

marketplace because they didn't like the " fanciful theories " as

naturalist Thomas Jefferson described the ideas of the " learned "

doctors of

Europe. They founded a competitive marketplace because it made good

sense

and political economist Adam Smith had provided ample evidence that

the

best way to advance the science of medicine was to allow truly

talented

people with bright ideas to flourish without the restrictive medical

monopolies he saw in England. While most people who have studied

economics know that Adam Smith's book, The Wealth of Nations, is the

outline of

our American economic system, they may not be aware that in a letter

Smith wrote to Dr. William Cullen, in 1774, two years before The

Wealth

of Nations was published, discussed, in detail, the failure of the

British medical monopoly system and why such a monopoly should be

avoided in

Scotland and anywhere else. [2]

 

Smith was convinced that all trade monopolies were a conspiracy

against

the public in many ways, including raising prices, which was,

underneath it all, the ultimate goal of all monopolies. He also

pointed out,

especially in his letter to Dr. Cullen, that the political leadership

of a

trade usually had its own self-serving agenda that had nothing to do

with developing high quality future practitioners.

 

There is ample proof that Adam Smith was correct that monopoly in the

practice of medicine would hinder the development of the best

products

and services to heal the sick. Up until the 20th Century, there were

no

medical monopolies in America. Doctors of all philosophical beliefs

and

training were free to offer their services to the public and the most

creative among them, often untrained lay people, founded such great

American healing arts as chiropractic, osteopathy, naturopathy to

name a

few of the more prominent ones. Health food stores, health spas and

all

manner of natural health ideas abounded, encouraging wholesome diets,

exercise and fresh air often promoted as self-help programs and,

again,

mostly promoted by self-taught lay people. Such ideas were always

soundly condemned by the members of the American Medical Association,

the

trade guild representing the financial interests of MDs who practice

what

we now call modern medicine.

 

Samuel Clemens, who once testified on behalf of the practice of

osteopathy so they could legally practice in New York state, also

publicly

claimed, that without competition from homeopathy, the imported

German

medical philosophy which gained rapid and wide popularity upon its

arrival, allopaths would not have been forced to look at their more

barbaric

customs of bloodletting and poisoning people with Calomel (mercury),

two

of the more grisly, and widely used allopathic medical practices of

long standing.

 

And that is the point of this article. When you have few

restrictions,

you end up with lots of ideas, have lots of talented practitioners

offering all manner of services and customers are able to pick the

products

and services most appropriate to their individual needs. Bad products

and poor service can't survive in a competitive marketplace.

 

At the turn of the twentieth Century, international drug companies,

along with the allopathic medical profession, the only medical group

that

promoted synthetic and patentable drugs, laid out a sophisticated

campaign to control the medical profession and wipe their competition

off

the face of the Earth. With some exceptions, largely due to citizen

outrage that forced legislatures to pass health freedom laws of one

sort or

another, we now live in a largely monopolistic medical system that

manages to kill at least 784,000 per year.

 

While there have been plenty of dirty names thrown around to describe

natural healing arts, and fear-mongering headlines scream that using

dietary supplements, herbs, homeopathic products and the like is

dangerous, the bottom line is that the modern medical system is

failing. Killing

784,000 people doesn't even cover those who suffer chronic, sometimes

lifelong illnesses that destroy all chances to lead a full,

productive

life from the litany of failed toxic drugs, surgeries gone wrong,

mistakes in hospitals, misdiagnoses and all manner of problems that

have

arisen from a system awash in cash and political connections to keep

it

afloat.

 

Meanwhile, there is NO documented evidence anywhere on this planet

that

suggests, much less provides proof, that natural healing arts cause

harm, much less stack bodies in the street from its use.

 

If you think it is time to create a competitive, multi-model medical

system so we can restore real medical and health choices, moderate

prices

and regain control of our own decisions about medicine and health,

please join us at our international health freedom meeting in

Minnesota.

 

October 28-30, 2005

National Conference for Health Freedom Advocates

And World Health Freedom Assembly

Minneapolis, Minnesota

www.nationalhealthfreedom.org

 

ACT FOR HEALTH FREEDOM NOW: Go to

www.friendsoffreedominternational.org

and purchase " Death by Modern Medicine " and view and purchase the new

movie on Codex and Free Trade called " We Become Silent " by Kevin

Miller.

Proceeds from the sale of these products are crucial to help fund our

health freedom action. For state action go to

www.nationalhealthfreedom.org.

 

REFERENCES

 

1, The Herbalist Charter of King Henry VIII

2, The Americans: The Colonial Experience by Daniel Boorstin

3, Letter to William Cullen from Adam Smith

 

© 2005 Carolyn Dean -

 

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Dr. Carolyn Dean is a medical doctor, naturopathic doctor, herbalist,

acupuncturist, nutritionist, as well as a powerful health activist

fighting for health freedom as president of Friends of Freedom

International. Dr. Dean is the author of over a dozen health books,

the latest of

which is " Death By Modern Medicine " .

 

Elissa Meininger, is Vice President of Friends of Freedom

International

and co-founder of the Health Freedom Action Network, a grassroots

citizens' political action group. She is also a health freedom

political

analyst and can be heard on the natural health radio show

SuperHealth,

broadcast weekly on station WKY (SuperTalk AM 930) in Oklahoma City.

 

Website: www.deathbymodernmedicine.com

Website: www.carolyndean.com

 

E-Mail: holeopharm