BC’s naturopathic regulator’s attorney has rejected a suggestion that the profession is not “science-bound” during a court hearing related to the business of a naturopath who produces fecal transplants for autistic children.
The BC College of Naturopaths is fighting two lawsuits filed by Jason Klop, who is asking a judge to limit investigations into his practice and overturn his ban on making, advertising and selling pills and enemas. made with human excrement.
On Wednesday in the BC Supreme Court, university attorney Angela Westmacott addressed an argument from Klop’s attorney, who has stated that her client is not required to follow traditional scientific evidence because naturopaths “are not bound by the science “.
Westmacott noted the provisions of the university’s code of conduct and prescribing standards that suggest naturopaths should follow evidence-based practices.
“This idea that it is anything, according to my respectful presentation, is not accurate,” he said.
Westmacott argued that Klop’s legal challenges are based on a misinterpretation of the law and a misunderstanding of the role of researchers with the university’s research committee.
Klop has argued that he is only involved in the manufacture and export of fecal microbiota transplants [FMT] through his Novel Biome business, and is unrelated to his practice of naturist medicine.
Westmacott responded that the evidence gathered so far by the university and undercover private investigators suggests that Klop is also advising parents, advocating that they try FMT for their children and monitor them during treatment, all of which would go directly into the his role and responsibilities as a naturopath. .
“The concern is that Dr. Klop seems to be using his ND [naturopathic doctor] title, his affiliation with the university, to legitimize his business and make claims about the effectiveness of FMT for autism that are not supported by Health Canada guidelines, ”Westmacott said.
Naturopath fights “an extraordinary action”
With CBC was first reported in January 2020Klop has been charging parents about $ 15,000 for autistic children as young as two to have FMT, mostly at a clinic in the Mexican city of Rosarito.
FMT treatments involve extracting bacteria and other microbes from a healthy person’s poop and transferring them to a patient orally or orally, with the goal of restoring a normal environment within the gut.
Right now, FMT is only approved in Canada and the U.S. for the treatment of appellants C. difficile infection which has not responded to other therapies, but a wide range of other possible applications are being investigated.
Doctors and scientists have warned that, for now, any other use of this emerging therapy is experimental and carries a serious risk of infection, while people with autism have denounced the Klop procedure as a unproven treatment that endangers vulnerable children.
An illustration shows how fecal microbiota transplants occur. (Vancouver Island Health Authority)
Last August, the school announced it was taking “extraordinary action” to protect the public, prohibiting Klop from producing or selling FMT products while researching his Novel Biome.
The order responded to an April 2021 complaint from a former Klop lab employee, who alleged that he was producing FMT products in an Abbotsford apartment using his nephews’ feces without quality control. nor adequate control.
Klop has filed two petitions in court. One calls for a judge to quash the extraordinary action, and the second calls for an order preventing the school from investigating its production and export business.
Klop’s attorney, Jason Gratl, clarified Wednesday that he is not trying to block any of the university’s investigations into Klop’s advertising in Canada, his allegedly unsupported claims about FMT’s effectiveness for autism or allegations of engaging in inappropriate business relationships.
During the first day of hearings Tuesday, Gratl argued that the university’s research committee has not shown enough evidence of harm to patients to support its actions.
But Westmacott said those arguments are based on a misunderstanding of how the inquiry committee works. It is an investigative body, not a fact-finding body, and any evidence of misconduct would be assessed at a disciplinary hearing once the investigation is completed.
He said that if Klop wanted to prove that the conditions in his lab are sanitary and that they comply with the law, he is welcome to present evidence directly to the committee of inquiry and argue there for his ban to be lifted.
Westmacott added that the committee of inquiry has “very broad” powers to investigate naturopaths and the mandatory responsibility to study any complaints that arise.
“If they have any information that suggests there might be a problem with someone’s behavior, that’s enough,” Westmacott said.
“This is not a police officer arresting someone on the side of the road … Professionals have a reduced right to privacy under the law.”
Meanwhile, he noted that Klop has not fully cooperated with investigations into his practice, which have been underway since August 2019. He said he has repeatedly refused to provide financial records and other information about his publicity and claims requested by the university. .
The hearing of Klop’s petitions in court is scheduled to continue on Thursday.