What does one particular ethicist know about homeopathy? Not a lot it seems.
David Shaw criticises homeopathic aid organisations in the British Medical Journal for teaching Kenyan midwives how to use homeopathy during difficult deliveries when no hospitals are available, and Haitians how to use homeopathy for the numerous health problems that beset them following the 2010 earthquake.
He brands homeopathy and its practices as unethical, shocking, deceptive, exploitive and discredited – while referring to a discredited anti-homeopathy article to make his point. He says homeopathy has no evidence of efficacy or benefit and that people are deceived into thinking they are receiving real treatment when they are not. David is obviously not a fan of homeopathy.
Opinion is not fact. If David had looked into the full research on homeopathy and investigated the true experiences of recipients, practitioners and homeopathic aid organisations, a more accurate article could have been written. Sadly he did not, and so we are left with a opinion piece in a leading medical journal that sounds more like a vendetta than the expression of true concern.
More Information: “Humanitarian homeopaths” branded exploitative
