The Organic Consumers Association blindly follows the opponents of SF 1520

The OCA, which reportedly has 850,000 members nationwide, has been co-opted into
the MNHLRP all-out effort to derail the naturopathic doctor regulation bill in Minnesota.
How could circulating lies be in the interests of organic consumers?
The OCA position language to organize grassroots campaign against ND registration is lifted verbatim from the recent MNHLRP letter.
Please contact the OCA to register you concern about their position.

Here is the text http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_11852.cfm:

Take Action! Oppose Naturopathic Registration Bill and Grass Roots Request!

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Please pass this on to all!!

This is how far the system is degrading. When we have 25 individuals and a pill company, that can make this kind of impact to stop the consumers free choice of health care. Why? Can you say GREED and EGO!

This kind of bureaucratic compost has to be stopped in order for us to keep our choice of health care. In the day of outrageously high costing alopathic health care, which mainly pushes pills to mask the symptoms, us traditional and natural minded Alternative and Complimentary health care providers use more of the earthy and non-synthetic remedies, would still like to be able to keep our scope of practice under the already existing bill 146A.

So if you value your freedom of choice please let your Senators and Representatives know how you stand. They are sitting in St. Paul waiting for your calls and mails. They do not read minds very well and NEED to hear your voice and see your writing! This is how the system works.

So PLEASE do something! Our freedoms are slipping away fast enough with out having our right to choose our own health care taken away.

Thank you, EW Spencer April 26, 2008,

Dear Health Freedom Supporters:

Why we want to oppose this bill:

1. The original bill was introduced as a licensure bill for 25 naturopaths. Had this form of the bill been accepted and passed ALL PRACTITIONERS would have had to STOP their practice. This bill would have brought ALL natural health care modalities into the Medical Board control.
2. This original bill was changed to a registration bill for these same 25 naturopaths. Although the bill is no longer licensure, it still contains the harmful language and lists all the modalities in the scope of practice. It is still bringing all modalities listed in the scope of practice to the Medical Board's jurisdiction. When the registered naturopathic doctors seek licensure, the modalities in the scope of practice will have been under the Medical Board for x amount of years and it will be very difficult for an unlicensed professional to practice these modalities without being regulated by the Board of Medicine.
3. Any practitioner with a Naturopathic Doctor or Diplomat diploma is at immediate risk of loosing the ability to use "N.D." as their title unless the diploma was earned from one of the six schools listed in the bill.
4. The intention of the original licensure bill was obvious. The 25 naturopaths wanted control of all natural health practices and modalities and they wanted to be regulated as doctors by the Medical Board. There has been no change in the direction of the intention of the registration bill. It, the registration bill, is just a small stepping stone back to the original goal to control and have a monopoly.

Listen to our discussion of this hot issue on the radio Monday April 28, 2008 - details below.

We are making positive headway with the help of your calls, emails and hand delivered letters. It only takes 150 letters to get their attention. Your calls, emails and letters will make the difference! The bill for Naturopathic Registration is going into yet another committee in the House of Representatives and we are calling on you again for your help to STOP it and preserve your right to practice!

1. Write a letter or email (hand written letter is the best choice) Call the Representatives and Senators on the list and your own Rep. and Senator. Call House Info @ 651-296-2146 Use this link to find your representative .
   
2. We need to flood these Legislators with phone calls. Please take a moment and call through the lists provided at the end of the email. Tell Representatives you want "naturopath" and "naturopathy" to remain in the public domain and to oppose HF 1724.
3. Attend the House Ways and Means hearing - we will send out an email when the date is set.
4. Spend a day at the Capitol lobbying Representatives - let your voice be heard! Contact us right away if you're interested in this critical grass roots work! 651-322-4542

Please get your calls and emails in by 5:00pm Tuesday April 29, 2008. For hand written/hand delivered letters, please call or email MNHLRP for delivery options. If you're a practitioner, we have additional talking points you will want to include in your communications. Please contact us right away!

Please communicate any comments from members of the House Ways and Means Committee. This information is crucial in lobbying against HF 1724 in Minnesota. So that we may alert you more quickly in the future, please send me your e-mail address. mnhlrp@charter.net 651-322-4542

If your practitioner uses an N.D. after his/her name, please share this action alert with them.

Hear the President of MNHLRP, Gregory Schmidt and Katie Murphy of Healing Insights on KFAI Radio hosted by Kenshasha Kambui on the program "Health Notes"

KFAI Radio Minneapolis FM 90.3 St Paul FM 106.7 Monday April 28, 2008 from 11:00 AM to 12 Noon

Sample Letter(Use your own words and list your own concerns)

Dear Representative [insert name]

Please oppose SF 1520 (hf 1724), a bill to give title and practice protection to a small group of less than 25 naturopaths.

Reasons to oppose this bill:

1. Here is huge controversy over this bill in the natural health community. The concerns of consumers and traditional natural health care practitioners are ignored in the rush to pass this legislation.
2. The bill purports to grant "title protection" to about 25 people. In reality the bill threatens the whole underpinning of the natural health community that practices under Minn.Stat. 146A.
3. The Minnesota legislature recognized that Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) health care practices are natural and do NOT require licensure. Chapter 146A - The Complementary and Alternative Health Care Practices Act -- became law in 2000.
4. The legislature has revisited this statute in 2004, 2005 and 2007, and fundamentally reaffirmed it. It is working, and should not be changed without justification. The legislation jeopardizes whether "naturopathy" as practiced by "traditional naturopaths" will remain in the public domain - where these complementary and alternative modalities are currently practiced and openly accessed by consumers.
5. Financially the State should not spend money to protect a small group to have exclusive access to the title of "Doctor". Historically, licensure and registration increases cost of health care.
6. Licensure and registration has always been brought by a small group of people to secure their economic base. The consuming public is not asking for this legislation.

In this case, the Minnesota Association of Naturopathic Physicians (MnANP), a chapter of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) , is the special interest group that is seeking a monopoly on the practice of naturopathy; the website for the MNANP equates "naturopathic medicine" with "naturopathy."

The registration of this small group of "naturopathic doctors" is only the first step in the ultimate licensing and/or restriction on the entire profession.

Thank you for hearing our concerns at SF 1520/HF 1724.

Respectfully,

[insert your name, address, and phone number]

House Ways and Means Committee Chair: Loren Solberg (DFL) 651-296-2365 rep.loren.solberg@house.mn

Vice Chair: Marsha Swails (DFL) 651-296-1147 rep.marsha.swails@house.mn

Lead-GOP: Mary Liz Holberg (R) 651-296-6926 rep.maryliz.holberg@house.mn

Jim Abeler (R) 651-296-1729 rep.jim.abeler@house.mn

Kathy Brynaert (DFL) 651-296-3248 rep.kathy.brynaert@house.mn

Lyndon Carlson (DFL) 651-296-4255 rep.lyndon.carlson@house.mn

Karen Clark (DFL) 651-296-0294 rep.karen.clark@house.mn

Matt Dean (R) 651-296-3018 rep.matt.dean@house.mn

Steve Drazkowski (R) 651-296-2273 rep.steve.drazkowski@house.mn

Kent Eken (DFL) 651-296-9918 rep.kent.eken@house.mn

Ron Erhardt (R) 651-296-4363 rep.ron.erhardt@house.mn

Mindy Greiling (DFL) 651-296-5387 rep.mindy.greiling@house.mn

Bob Gunther (R) 651-296-3240 rep.bob.gunther@house.mn

Debra Hilstrom (DFL) 651-296-3709 rep.debra.hilstrom@house.mn

Bill Hilty (DFL) 651-296-4308 rep.bill.hilty@house.mn

Thomas Huntley (DFL) 651-296-2228 rep.thomas.huntley@house.mn

Phyllis Kahn (DFL) 651-296-4257 rep.phyllis.kahn@house.mn

Margaret Anderson Kelliher (DFL) 651-296-0171 rep.margaret.kelliher@house.mn

Ann Lenczewski (DFL) 651-296-4218 rep.ann.lenczewski@house.mn

Carlos Mariani (DFL) 651-296-9714 rep.carlos.mariani@house.mn

Denny McNamara (R) 651-296-3135 rep.denny.mcnamara@house.mn

Erin Murphy (DFL) 651-296-8799 rep.erin.murphy@house.mn

Mary Murphy (DFL) 651-296-2676 rep.mary.murphy@house.mn

Dennis Ozment (R) 651-296-4306 rep.dennis.ozment@house.mn

Erik Paulsen (R) 651-296-7449 rep.erik.paulsen@house.mn

Gene Pelowski Jr. (DFL) 651-296-8637 rep.gene.pelowski@house.mn

Anthony "Tony" Sertich (DFL) 651-296-0172 rep.tony.sertich@house.mn

Steve Smith (R) 651-296-9188 rep.steve.smith@house.mn

Ken Tschumper (DFL) 651-296-9278 rep.ken.tschumper@house.mn