The College of Naturopathic Physicians of BC is fighting two court petitions filed by Jason Klop, who is asking a judge to limit his medical examinations and lift the ban on making, advertising and selling human fecal pills and enemas. In the BC Supreme Court on Wednesday, college attorney Angela Westmacott cited an argument by Klopp’s attorney, who argued that his client was not required to follow traditional scientific evidence because physiotherapists were “not bound by science.” Westmacott noted the provisions of the college code of conduct and prescribing standards that suggest that physiotherapists should follow evidence-based practices. “This perception that anything is happening, in my dignity, is not accurate,” he said. Westmacott argued that Klopp’s legal challenges were based on a misinterpretation of the law and a misunderstanding of the role of researchers on the college’s board of inquiry. Klopp claims that he is only involved in the manufacture and export of faecal implants [FMT] through the Novel Biome business, and is not related to his practice in physiotherapy. Westmacott responded that data gathered so far from the college and undercover private investigators suggests that Klop also advises parents, claiming that they try FMT for their children and watch them during treatment, all of which would fall directly into the role. and his responsibilities as a physiotherapist. “The concern is that Dr. Klopp seems to be using his SW [naturopathic doctor] title, his relationship with the college, to legitimize his business and make claims about the effectiveness of the FMT for autism that are not supported by the Health Canada guidelines “, said Westmacott.
Naturopath fights “great action”
As CBC first reported in January 2020Klop charges parents about $ 15,000 for autistic children up to the age of two to have FMT, mostly at a clinic in the Mexican coastal city of Rosarito. FMT treatments involve taking bacteria and other germs from a healthy person’s stool and transferring them to a patient either from the anus or mouth, with the goal of restoring a normal environment in the gut. FMT is currently only approved in Canada and the US for the treatment of recurrent C. difficile infection which has not responded to other therapies, but research is ongoing for a wide range of other possible applications. Doctors and scientists have warned that, at this time, any other use of this emerging treatment is experimental and poses a serious risk of infection, while people with autism have denounced the Klopp process as Unproven treatment that puts vulnerable children at risk. An illustration shows how fecal microflora cuttings are produced. (Vancouver Island Health Authority) Last August, the college announced that it had taken “emergency action” to protect the public, forbidding Klopp from producing or selling FMT products while researching Biome’s novel. The order came in response to an April 2021 complaint from a former Klopp lab employee who claimed to have produced FMT products in an Abbotsford apartment using his nieces’ feces without proper quality control or inspection. Klopp has filed two petitions in court. One is asking a judge to cancel the emergency and the other is asking for an order that will prevent the college from investigating its production and export activities. Klopp’s lawyer, Jason Gratl, said Wednesday that he was not trying to block any of the college’s investigations into Klopp’s advertising in Canada, his allegedly baseless allegations about the effectiveness of the FMT for autism, or allegations of involvement in inappropriate business relationships. During the first day of hearings on Tuesday, Gratl argued that the college’s board of inquiry had not shown enough evidence of harm to patients to support its actions. But Westmacott said those arguments were based on a misunderstanding of how the commission of inquiry works. It is an investigative body, not an investigative body – and any evidence of misconduct will be weighed at a disciplinary hearing once the investigation is completed. He said that if Klop wanted to prove that the conditions in his laboratory were hygienic and in accordance with the law, he was welcome to present evidence directly to the committee of inquiry and to support the lifting of his ban there. Westmacott added that the commission of inquiry has “very broad” powers to investigate physiotherapists and a mandatory responsibility to examine any complaints made. “If they have information that suggests there may be a problem with someone’s behavior, that’s enough,” Westmacott said. “This is not a police officer holding someone on the side of the road. Επαγγελμα Professionals have a reduced right to privacy under the law.” Klopp, meanwhile, noted that Klopp had failed to fully cooperate with his in-office investigations, which have been ongoing since August 2019. He said he has repeatedly refused to provide financial records and other information about the ad and claims. requested by the college. The hearing of Klopp’s applications in court is scheduled to continue on Thursday.
