Medical Treatment Act William T. Jarvis, Ph.D. Congress has bought into organized quackery's main ploy, which is to disguise its promotions in a cloak of consumer freedom of choice. People do not want to be cheated by ineffective treatments, nor do they want to be harmed. The only reason peoplewould want to be treated by an unapproved procedure is that someone has convinced them that the method IS safe and effective . Desperate patients are willing to try most anything that a health care provider suggests might help .
Alienation also plays a powerful role in misguided patient behavior.
Deviant providers often convince their patients that an oppressive and corrupted bureaucracy is keeping the treatment off the market. This bill is a charlatan's dream because it entices patients to sign away their rights. By fulfilling the duty to warn, quacks will be getting the same kind of protection the tobacco industry got with warning labels. After a consumer realizes he has been harmed, he has little chance of redress because of having been warned. Americans are disgusted with Congress for selling itself to special interest groups, but the Congress sinks to a new low when it jeopardizes the health of the public by putting quacks on a par with responsible medicine.