BC’s natural regulator’s lawyer dismissed the suggestion that the profession was not “science-bound” during a court hearing on the business of a naturopath producing fecal transplants for children with autism.
The College of Naturopaths in British Columbia is fighting two court petitions filed by Jason Klopp, who asked a judge to limit investigations into his practice and lift his ban on the production, advertising and sale of pills and enemas made from human feces.
At the British Columbia Supreme Court on Wednesday, college lawyer Angela Westmacott argued with Klopp’s lawyer, who said his client was not required to follow traditional scientific evidence because naturopaths were “not bound by science.”
Westmacott cited provisions in the college’s code of conduct and prescribing standards that require naturopaths to follow evidence-based practices.
“This notion that everything is appropriate, in my respect, is not true,” she said.
Westmacott argues that Klopp’s legal challenges are based on a misinterpretation of the law and a misunderstanding of the role of investigators in the college’s inquiry committee.
Klopp claims to be involved only in the production and export of fecal microbiota transplants [FMT] through his Novel Biome business and this is not related to his practice in naturopathic medicine.
Westmacott objected that the evidence gathered so far by the college and private undercover detectives suggested that Klopp was also advising parents, advocating that they try FMT for their children and monitor them during treatment, all of which would fall directly in his role and responsibilities as a naturopath.
“The concern is that Dr. Klopp seems to be using his ND [naturopathic doctor] title, his affiliation with the college to legitimize his business and make claims about the effectiveness of FMT for autism, which are not supported by the Health Canada guidelines, “Westmacott said.
Naturopath fights ’emergency action’
Like CBC first reported in January 2020Klopp charges parents about $ 15,000 for two-year-olds with autism to have FMT, mainly at a clinic in the Mexican city of Rosarito on the ocean.
FMT treatment involves taking bacteria and other microbes from the faeces of a healthy person and transferring them to a patient, either anal or oral, to restore the normal environment in the gut.
Currently, FMT is only approved in Canada and the United States for the treatment of relapse C. difficile infection who has not responded to other therapies, but studies are being conducted in a wide range of other possible applications.
Doctors and scientists have warned that any other use of this emerging therapy is currently experimental and carries a serious risk of infection, while people with autism have condemned Klopp’s procedure as unproven treatment that puts vulnerable children at risk.
An illustration shows how fecal microbiota transplants are performed. (Vancouver Island Health Service)
Last August, the college announces “emergency action” to protect the public by banning Klopp from producing or selling FMT products while investigating his new biome.
The order came in response to a April 2021 complaint from a former employee of Klopp’s lab who claimed he was producing FMT products in an apartment in Abbotsford using his nephews’ feces without proper quality control or screening.
Klopp has filed two lawsuits. One wants a judge to overturn the extraordinary action, and the other calls for an order to prevent the panel from investigating his manufacturing and export business.
Klopp’s lawyer, Jason Grattle, said Wednesday that he was not trying to block any of the college’s investigations into Klopp’s advertising in Canada, his alleged unsubstantiated allegations of FMT’s effectiveness in autism, or allegations of misconduct.
During Tuesday’s first day of hearings, Grattle said the college’s inquiry committee had shown little evidence of harm to patients to support its actions.
But Westmacott said those arguments were based on a misunderstanding of how the committee of inquiry worked. This is an investigative body, not a fact-finding body – and all evidence of misconduct will be weighed at a disciplinary hearing once the investigation is complete.
She said that if Klopp wanted to prove that the conditions in his laboratory were sanitary and in accordance with the law, he was welcome to present evidence directly to the inquiry commission and to justify his ban there.
Westmacott added that the committee of inquiry has “very broad” powers to investigate naturopaths and a mandatory responsibility to consider any complaint.
“If they have any information that suggests there may be a problem with someone’s behavior, that’s enough,” Westmacott said.
“This is not a policeman who keeps someone on the side of the road. … Professionals have a limited right to privacy under the law. “
She, meanwhile, noted that Klopp had not fully co-operated with investigations into his practice, which have been ongoing since August 2019. She said he had repeatedly refused to provide financial records and other information about his advertising and requests requested by the college. .
Klopp’s requests to the court are due to continue on Thursday.
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