Law and Magic Blog

The Secret Life of Radovan Karadzic: The War Crimes Fugitive Lived a Life as an Alternative Medicine Healer

NPR's Deborah Amos and Sylvia Poggioli report on the hidden life of former Bosnian Serb leader and current war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic. He was hard to catch because he had help from friends who gave him assistance in concealing himself over the years, and because he changed his appearance so successfully. Commentators note he "looked like something...out of Harry Potter", or "like Professor Dumbledore." Although educated in traditional medicine and qualified as a psychiatrist, he worked "underground" as an alternative healer in "human quantum energy", maintained a website, and published articles on alternative medicine in the leading popular magazines. Now he's headed for trial at the Hague, where he apparently plans to defend himself.

Homeopathy, Newspapers, and Law

Ben Goldacre drew the ire of the Society of Homeopaths with his column "A Kind of Magic?", published on November 16, 2007, in The Guardian. A Society representative filed a complaint with the appropriate British watchdog agency, the Press Complaints Commission. The Society thought that Mr. Goldacre had violated the PCC's Code of Practice. The PCC "considered" the complaint, and decided that, since the newspaper offered the complainants a remedy in the form of what we might call "equal space" the problem could be considered resolved.

"The Commission considered the complaint and recognised the newspaper’s argument that the specific claim had to be understood in the context of the article when read as a whole, noting its position that the reference sought to sum up the points made in a lengthy, polemical article about homeopathy. Nonetheless, the Commission was concerned that the article had moved from what appeared to be a legitimate argument (that homeopaths could be seen to be endangering lives, something with which others may have disagreed) to a serious claim which had not been fully substantiated.

"In the circumstances, the Commission took the view that the newspaper’s offer of an opportunity in which to respond to the allegation – in the form of a letter for publication – represented a sufficient form of remedial action. While the complainant did not wish to take up the newspaper’s offer, she considered that the complaint was resolved on this basis."

 

 

Mindfreak

On the July 16 episode of Mindfreak (A&E), Criss Angel will perform "psychic surgery".  (10:30 EDT, 9:30 CDT). This episode is a repeat. The premiere of the 4th season is scheduled for July 23rd at 10 p.m., 9 Central time.

The Juice That Refreshes...and Cures?

Tried Xango juice yet? I did, while sharing an afternoon with friends during last December's non-denominational gift giving holidays.  My friends got some as a present, so we read the label, then opened the bottle up, and tried the liquid, which is made from the mangosteen fruit.  Xango juice is all right as far as taste goes, but I still prefer pineapple juice, or apple juice, or grapefruit juice, or papaya juice, or any number of other juices. 

Here's more about the drink in a story from the AP. Notice that all the company really says about it is that it's made from a proprietary formula and that it contains xanthones. Otherwise, "These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." The FDA did send a letter to the company about its claims in 2006.  The company replied that it didn't actually make those claims; they were made by third parties. Nevertheless, many people who pay high prices for the juice are still touting what they think are its amazing curative and wellness properties. Here's more from the Mayo Clinic discussing the unproven status of mangosteen juice as an anti-inflammatory.

Texas Supreme Court Reverses Lower Court In Exorcism Case

The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that a church can't be held liable for the injuries that a teen alleged she suffered during the course of an exorcism. A jury had previously awarded her $300,000, but that award was  later reduced to less than $200,000. The justices, in a 6-3 decision, decided that holding the church accountable would have a "chilling effect" on religious matters protected by the First Amendment. In particular, the majority held that it could not determine "matters of religious doctrine."

"Although the Free Exercise Clause does not categorically insulate religious conduct from judicial scrutiny, it prohibits courts from deciding issues of religious doctrine.... Chief Justice Jefferson asserts, however, that we go too far in protecting religious doctrine in this case, and, in effect, eliminate mental anguish as an element of damage against tortfeasors who allege their conduct was motivated by religious conviction. ___ S.W.3d at ___ (Jefferson, C.J., dissenting). That, of course, is not our intent. We do not mean to imply that “under the cloak of religion, persons may, with impunity,” commit intentional torts upon their religious adherents....Freedom to believe may be absolute, but freedom of conduct is not, and “conduct even under religious guise remains subject to regulation for the protection of society.”... Moreover, religious practices that threaten the public’s health, safety, or general welfare cannot be tolerated as protected religious belief....But religious practices that might offend the rights or sensibilities of a non-believer outside the church are entitled to greater latitude when applied to an adherent within the church. ...Particularly, when the adherent’s claim, as here, involves only intangible, emotional damages allegedly caused by a sincerely held religious belief, courts must carefully scrutinize the circumstances so as not to become entangled in a religious dispute.... And while we can imagine circumstances under which an adherent might have a claim for compensable emotional damages as a consequence of religiously motivated conduct, this is not such a case.

"The “laying of hands” and the presence of demons are part of the church’s belief system and accepted as such by its adherents. These practices are not normally dangerous or unusual and apparently arise in the church with some regularity. They are thus to be expected and are accepted by those in the church. That a particular member may find the practice emotionally disturbing and non-consensual when applied to her does not transform the dispute into a secular matter. “Courts are not arbiters of religious interpretation,” and the First Amendment does not cease to apply when parishioners disagree over church doctrine or practices because “it is not within the judicial function and judicial competence to inquire whether the petitioner or his fellow worker more correctly perceived the commands of their common faith.” ...Because determining the circumstances of Laura’s emotional injuries would, by its very nature, draw the Court into forbidden religious terrain, we conclude that Laura has failed to state a cognizable, secular claim in this case.... The Free Exercise Clause prohibits courts from deciding issues of religious doctrine. Here, the psychological effect of church belief in demons and the appropriateness of its belief in “laying hands” are at issue. Because providing a remedy for the very real, but religiously motivated emotional distress in this case would require us to take sides in what is essentially a religious controversy, we cannot resolve that dispute. Accordingly, we reverse the court of appeals’ judgment and dismiss the case."

Read the entire opinion via this link.

Teen Dies When Faith Healing Fails

Neil Beagley, 16, died from the results of a blockage which could have been treated, say health officials. Instead, he chose to remain true to the tenets of his church, the Followers of Church, which practices faith healing. Under Oregon law, persons 14 and older can choose the kind of medical treatment they want, including alternative medical treatment or faith healing, or none at all. Mr. Beagley's cousin Ava Worthington died three months ago from an infection. She and her parents were also members of the church. But Ava was fifteen months old, and her parents now face a trial for manslaughter (under ORS 163.118: "Subsection (1)(c)(B) of this section that the child or dependent person was under care or treatment solely by spiritual means pursuant to the religious beliefs or practices of the child or person or the parent or guardian of the child or person.")

Simon Singh on Alternative Therapies

Speaking of Simon Singh, he and Edzard Ernst have a new book out: Trick or Treatment (2008), on alternative therapies. Right now the book is pre-pub in the U.S. Here's a link to a podcast in which he discusses it. Here's an article by Dr. Singh from the Times on the subject of homeopathy.

Across the Pond

Here's a link to a post at Ben Goldacre's BadScience.net in which he discusses the new legislation that replaces the soon to be repealed Fraudulent Mediums Act, that itself replaced the Witchcraft Act of 1736. Among his comments:

Psychics are popular. They do what they say on the tin. They serve consumers who possibly shouldn’t watch telly after 9pm, but who have chosen to seek out practitioners with a very odd take on evidence. Apparently, special protection will be given to those who may be “particularly vulnerable” on account of their “credulity” (”consumers who may more readily believe specific claims”).

With my tiny brain, I can’t see how anyone is going to rationally police this kind of thing, given that the whole industry is, by definition, based on nonsense, and it’s plainly undesirable to ban things simply because they’re stupid.

...

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has given us a taster of the comedy to come, adjudicating last month in all seriousness on Zara, the “UK’s premier psychic adviser”. It was concerned that statements like “I will cast a spell to grant your wish”, “might be interpreted to mean that her spells would be successful”. Thank God the ASA is there to save us from this underhand marketing practice. I don’t understand why anyone would pay for a spell if they didn’t think it would be successful.

Then the regulator tried to assess Zara’s powers. “We considered that the claim ‘premier psychic adviser’ implied that Zara offered an objectively superior service to all other psychic advisers … because we had seen no comparative evidence to show that Zara offered an objectively superior service to all other psychic advisers, the claim was misleading.”

It’s unclear what kind of evidence might have sufficed for the ASA. If it was a provable phenomenon then perhaps that would genuinely have been mis-selling. Maybe Chris Forster, the BNP’s moustachioed psychic candidate for the London Assembly, could have helped the ASA take a more quantitative approach. His speciality is “remote viewing of people, property or businesses, ie to analyse accurately at a distance”, and he promotes himself as “the only qualified internal auditor and accountant working full-time as a psychic”.

This nonsense is everywhere, and I’m glad of it (although not the BNP part). I am very happy to live in a world where “Alien doctors treated my cystitis” can be a news story in the Hartlepool Mail (”I don’t tell people … I don’t think they believe me. That’s why I’m telling my story to the Mail, to give credibility. I want to get it into concrete evidence”).

Good stuff.

Makers of Common Cold Remedy Offer Settlement

Knight-McDowell, the makers of the dietary supplement Airborne, have agreed to settle claims that the product doesn't really fight off the common cold, although the company doesn't admit wrongdoing. What accounts for the magic sense of wellbeing that some many users of the product, a concoction of vitamins, feel? One psych professor suggests it's the good old placebo effect, and that may not be all bad. It's just, well, sort of pricey. Airborne sells for fifty cents a pill on sale at my local Walgreen's. That's pretty expensive, mes amis, even for a "unique natural formula contain[ing] 17 herbs and nutrients, including ginger for nausea"! Read more here and here.

So it's back to the old formula--take care of yourself when you've got a cold, and it'll be gone in seven days. Otherwise, it'll linger on for a week.

Law, Medicine, and Alternative Therapies

Here's an interesting piece, "Bitter Herbs: Mainstream, Magic, and Menace," by Thomas L. Delbanco on why physicians should take patients' interest in alternative medicine seriously. He says in part:

In today's frantic and increasingly impersonal world, replete with fax machines, voice mail, the tortuous information highway, and the bewildering technologies of medicine, people find hope in recreating the past. The "original instrument" movement in music, the renaissance of the portrait painter, the fascination with Wharton's Age of Innocence, and the urban dweller's flight to the country represent point-counterpoints to the suffocation that comes from today's headlong rush. And the countervailing simplicity, clarity, and directness that patients seek may be represented by a tablet or potion derived from an exotic "natural" herb. 

At the same time, clinical trials investigate scientific medicine with increasingly sophisticated techniques that proliferate, confuse, and too often disappoint an avid audience. Methodologists who develop and critique their design and findings wield more and more complex tools. How many approaches to multiple regression now exist? Which statistical inference is right for the latest set of data? In 1994, is butter or margarine safer? When do you remove, radiate, or watch prostate cancer? Is lumpectomy for breast cancer really as safe as more mutilating surgery? What's best for back pain? So, even at a time of rich scientific endeavor and discovery, patients turn to plants or homeopathic distillates and announce, "I would rather swallow this! It's pure, it's safe, it's magic, and it will help me face the world" 

But now their purity, safety, or magic also comes into question. The contents inside the Jin Bu Huan box, for example, are not Jin Bu Huan; the manufacturers either used the wrong plant or got it wrong on the label. Moreover, the safety is suspect; its effect is not magic alone. The ingredients have a pharmacologic effect that may help or hurt the patient, depending on the total dose and individual susceptibility. 

How should the benefit that may come from alternative therapies, whether through the placebo effect or beyond, be maximized? And how should the dangers of these therapies be minimized? With respect to the benefits, the multibillion dollar industry that produces and promotes many of the therapies is not shy about extolling their putative virtues. As has been true in the United States since its founding, proponents of alternative therapies find it easy to attract the public's attention. The popularity may grow through future clinical trials that show efficacy, and interest in such trials is increasing. Small-scale experiments are sponsored by the highly visible, albeit modestly funded, Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM), established at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) "to encourage the investigation of alternative medical practices, with the ultimate goal of integrating validated alternative medical practices with current conventional medical procedures". Larger trials are funded with less fanfare through other branches of the NIH. Private philanthropies, led by the Fetzer Institute in Kalamazoo, Michigan, are investing aggressively in this area. All this activity likely represents a response to public demand and a carefully orchestrated effort to engender interest.

This piece foreshadows much of the argument in R. Barker Bausell's Snake Oil Science: The Truth About Complementary and Alternative Medicine (Oxford University Press, 2007), but it's obviously more succinct. It appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 1994. Here's a link to the full article. Dr. Delbanco is also the author of "Leeches, Spiders, and Astrology: Predilections and Predictions," 280 Journal of the American Medical Association 1560-1562 (1998).