Legislator pushes bill to give protection to homeopathic medicine

A key legislator is pushing a bill that would change state law to ensure homeopathics and others couldn’t be prosecuted for illegally practicing medicine in Iowa. Representative Dan Boddicker, a republican from Tipton, says there’s compelling testimony from people who believe they’ve been healed by a supplement or procedure offered outside the traditional medical community. Boddicker says “a lot of times, healing is in a person’s mind.”Boddicker says he doesn’t want to see somebody working in a health food store being prosecuted for practicing medicine without a license when a customer comes in and asks for something to help an ache or pain, and the clerk offers up a vitamin supplement. Boddicker says he knows a lot of people who’s “gotten a lot of help” from herbal supplements and the like. However, Boddicker says the chances are slim his bill will become law because he’s “taking on mainstream ideas.” The bill is opposed by the Iowa Medical Society, which represents Iowa physicians, as well as others in the “traditional” medical community.