Washington (H24N). The days of bloodletting may have long since passed, but the fight over the right to administer and receive "natural" forms of medical treatment rages on.

Alternative medicine has made headway into our society in the past decade.

St. John’s Wort, chiropractic care and acupuncture are now household names. Yet holistic practitioners in many states are still being prosecuted for administering unconventional treatments.

Holistic health studies are part of the curriculum of many major universities across the country, and a few offer formal training through five-year naturopathic medical school programs. Yet most states refuse to recognize any form of practitioner licensing other than that of a Medical Doctor as legitimate.

While insurance companies pay for some ‘alternative’ treatments and the federal government supports research on alternative medicine by funding the Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institute of Health, 39 states in America can nevertheless criminally charge anyone who uses natural methods to assist those in need.

Given the demand for access to alternative methods of treatment, some state authorities have been known to look the other way. Southern states in particular have become a "safe haven" for alternative practices, where many believe strongly in the right to pursue any kind of treatment they choose.

The issue of medical freedom has been gaining much attention lately and has even become an integral part of political party platforms in the South. The Kentucky branch of the Libertarian Party, for example, recently sponsored a ‘Health Freedom Rally’ which promoted the idea that the individual should have a right to self-medicate, pursue any form of alternative health care, and be free to solicit any for any type of health care service.

Citing 1999 statistics which show that 56.5% of all health care dollars went toward alternative forms of treatment, the Libertarian Party claims that Americans in general desire more medical freedom. They also note that the consumer paid for such treatments ‘out-of-pocket.’

The Access to Medical Treatment Act (HR 2635/ S 1955), which would make lawful the use of unconventional therapies, has already been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate, and is awaiting an official hearing in a House sub-committee.

States like Indiana, however, are still investing public resources into prosecuting individuals who administer any form of treatment without MD licensure.

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