How Naturopathy Could Kill Suzie Q

By Michael Hawkins

The following is a letter the Kennebec Journal will apparently not print. Trying to discover the reason and rationality behind the decision is futile. It’s just a bad paper.

Let’s pretend Suzie Q has a pain in her stomach. At first she chalks it up to something she ate. But the pain keeps returning. Maybe it’s a bug, she thinks.

After the pain persists for some time, Suzie Q wonders if maybe it’s stress. She slows things down for a little while.

But it doesn’t help.

Soon she decides she needs to see someone about this. She goes to a naturopath.

The naturopath assesses Suzie Q’s state. Maybe he utilizes Chinese medical astrology. ASTROLOGY. After all, accredited naturopathic schools really do teach it.

He decides Suzie Q needs garlic or some similar herbal remedy. Then he asks for his $80-200 fee.

Suzie Q goes home happy, but the pain soon deflates her again. She continues to see her naturopath, trying multiple herbs.

Six months pass when she finds herself in a hospital bed. She’s surrounded by medical doctors. Her oncologist tells her she has an aggressive stomach cancer that has progressed too far for treatment. If only she had seen him six months earlier, she might have had a chance.

What if Suzie Q was your friend? Your mother, your sister, your brother, your father, your spouse, your child? You?

Contact your representative and demand that naturopaths lose all licensing and practicing rights NOW.