He ordered his parents to stop conventional treatment, even though he suffered from an extremely rare disease, causing a serious deterioration in his condition * "Any person can advertise himself as a therapist in the field of complementary medicine," the judge stated
From an article by Eyal Tal, Maariv
A homeopath from the north of the country posed as a doctor and demanded from a boy suffering from a rare disease that he immediately stop the conventional medical treatment. As a result, the boy's condition deteriorated to the point of life-threatening. Repeated appeals by the boy's parents to the homeopath, Yosef Ravus, were answered with the answer: "We are on the right path." Finally, the parents decided to take their son to the hospital - where it turned out that his condition was critical.
Yesterday, at the Haifa Magistrate's Court, the homeopath was convicted of impersonating a doctor and illegally practicing medicine negligently. In his decision, the judge, Yosef Elron, referred to the fact that the therapist had no authority to order the parents to stop giving their son conventional drugs and that he did not have the medical knowledge required to treat this type of illness. "Complementary medicine in Israel is a breakthrough field for everyone. There is no supervision from regulated institutions over practitioners of complementary medicine, and any person can, theoretically, advertise himself as a therapist in this or that field of complementary medicine, and invite the general public to receive his services," the judge stated in his decision.
The judge also stated that the homeopathic therapist should have anticipated from the beginning the possibility that the boy's life would be in danger following the cessation of conventional treatment, and urgently referred to the hospital upon receiving reports of the continued deterioration in his condition.
The beginning of the affair was in September 97, when the parents went to the doctor and told him about their son's rare disease that affects the body's internal systems. The healer examined the child and assured the parents that if they stopped the conventional treatment given to him and began the homeopathic treatment - their son would recover. The therapist put quartz grains under the child's tongue and explained that it would cause him a fever and a rash, but as a result of this treatment, his body would be cleansed of toxins.
The parents did as the therapist instructed and stopped the medication. The boy's condition began to deteriorate: he suffered from excessive fatigue, fever and was almost unable to stand on his feet.
The healer examined the child several times, received a written and oral report on his deteriorating condition and despite this expressed satisfaction with the treatment and did not order his parents to hospitalize him. At a certain point, the parents decided to take the child to the hospital, when it turned out that his condition was critical. Only after his hospitalization was the boy out of danger.
"Justice has been served and I hope that when other parents make a decision whether to take their child to this type of healer - they will think carefully before doing so" - this is what the boy's mother told "Maariv" yesterday. According to her, her son's health deteriorated to the point of being life-threatening, but thanks to the medical treatment given to him in the 90th minute at the hospital, he was able to return to Eitano and recover. He volunteered to serve in the army and now he is 21 years old, he has finished his military service and is looking for a job.
"The treatment is not a substitute, only a complement" "We do not replace conventional medicine, but work in cooperation with it" - says Yair Shemer, homeopath and chairman of the umbrella organization of complementary medicine.
"Practically, we do not interfere with the treatments recommended by the doctors, but try to provide complementary treatment at the same time, knowing clearly that complementary medicine is not perfect and there are situations in which it is impossible to use alternative medicines." According to him, under no circumstances should a homeopath order the cessation of conventional treatment, but there are extreme therapists who do not cooperate and see alternative medicine as the center. "It's an unrealistic approach that gives a bad name and it's not responsible."
Professor Amos Korchin, Head of the Department of Neurology at Tel Aviv University: "There is no doubt that the attitude that says 'if it doesn't help, it won't hurt' is incorrect and the use of centuries-old methods, in the 21st century, is unacceptable. If I, as a doctor, use methods from a century ago, my license will be revoked. The intolerable ease of the Ministry of Health, when it allows scientifically unproven treatments given by people who often do not have a basic medical education, is a hack calling for thieves.
"Medicine is a scientific profession. Homeopathy is an anti-scientific method and there is no reason to allow people to practice medicine without a license. It's like a bus driver who will transport people without a driver's license. If the bus arrives in Hefsatu district safely once or twice, this does not mean that someone should be allowed to drive and endanger the public."
The article was published at the time with the permission of the author
