Homeopathy: Medicine for the 21st Century

Q.  Will it be a noisy demonstration?   

A.  It is not a demonstration, but a lobby.   We willl carry placards and banners while outside, but we are there to see our MPs. We will have plenty of stewards who will help organise the queue, but we expect that everyone will be good-humoured and sympathetic to each other.

 

Q. What will happen if opponents of homeopathy and CAM therapies try and disrupt our lobby?

A.  They can't.   It is our democratic right to lobby our MPs. if opponents try to stop us, the Houses of Parliament police will intervene.

 

Q. If I am from another country and haven't got the right to vote, can I still lobby my MP?

A. Yes, if you are a resident in his or her constituency.

 

Q. What do we 'extras' do?

A.  No one is an extra.   Everyone is there to lobby their MP.   Every single person who turns up is important and is contributing to the continued access to homeopathy and CAM therapies.

 

Q.  What do I say to my MP?

A.  We have provided notes of key issues. The most important points are that the ASA is endorsing a dabgerous attitude to medical evidence which conflicts with that of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and that the ASA is undermining patient choice.  Feel free to select any other issues you consider important. There are plenty to choose from!

 

Q:  What if my MP is opposed to homeopathy and CAM therapies?

A:  This is not simply an issue of homeopathy and CAM therapies. The ASA is adoting a position which conflicts with all scientific knowledge about medical evidence. The fact that the ASA is using this scientifically unacceptable argument to attack homeopathy and CAM therapies suggests that it is willing to breach its own rules and adopt an ideological postion. As such, the ASA is not acting with the impartiality expected of a regulatory body.

 

Q:  Can I join in if I am not a homeopath?

A:   Absolutely!  The issues go far beyond homeopathy.  If the arguments used by the ASA become generally accepted, then it will affect all patients, whatever system of medicine they use.  We know of one person who nearly died because conventional medical staff did not respect what she was telling them about her condition.  

 

Q:  I hear that the leaders of the main homeopathic organisatiions are not supporting the protest and lobby.  Won't this mean that it will be a failure?

A:   Absolutely not!   This is not the first lobby which H:MC21 has organised without real support, and they have all been successful.   Of course we would like the leaders of the other organisations to support us, but that is their decision.   Homeopaths in those organisations can make up their own minds as to whether or not to support H:MC21's very long fight on their behalf against the ASA.

 

Q:  I use a different CAM therapy.  Is this protest and lobby relevant to me?

A:   Yes.  The very same arguments lie behind the ASA's attitude to other CAM therapies.

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