Health Freedom Laws

In 1917, a law was passed in Oklahoma, granting the allopathic-controlled medical licensing board authority over practitioners of drugless healing arts. This law never went into effect and was repealed by state referendum in 1920. Since then, drugless healers have been free to practice, unlicensed in Oklahoma.

As a result of this referendum, those practices which are licensed such as allopathy, osteopathy and chiropractic, are considered definitions of scope of practice laws only and do not grant any licensing board jurisdiction over any healing arts practice other than the one defined by the law for that particular healing art.

Under Oklahoma law, any school which teaches a vocation, such as drugless healing, must be licensed to operate by the Oklahoma Board of Private Vocational Schools (OBPVS). The state does not dictate the curricula. At present, Oklahoma has two naturopathic colleges, one acupuncture school, several massage schools and one school for Indian Shaman regulated by the OBPVS.

Under the Oklahoma Consumer Protection Act, consumers of natural healing arts services are able to seek assistance from the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection. They are also able to sue in civil court for damages.

In 1994, thanks to a modernization of the allopathic medical practice acts, MDs are expressly allowed to offer non-traditional and/or experimental services. The text related to health freedom issues is as follows:

OKLAHOMA ALLOPATHIC MEDICAL AND SURGICAL LICENSURE AND SUPERVISION ACT

59-480

Sections 481 through 518 of Title 59 of the Oklahoma Statues shall be known and may be cited as the "Oklahoma Allopathic Medical and Surgical Licensure and Supervision Act". It is the intent that this act shall apply only to allopathic and surgical practices and to exclude any other healing practices. Allopathy is a method of treatment practiced by recipients of the degree of Doctor of Medicine, but specifically excluding homeopathy. The terms medicine, physician and drug(s) used herein are limited to allopathic practice.

Section 492(F)

Nothing in the Oklahoma Allopathic Medical and Surgical Licensure and Supervision Act shall prohibit services rendered by any person practicing nonallopathic healing practice.

Section 493.1(M)

The Board shall not deny a license to a person otherwise qualified to practice allopathic medicine within the meaning of this act solely because the person's practice or therapy is experimental or nontraditional.

Section 509.10(2)

The Board shall not revoke the license of a person otherwise qualified to practice allopathic medicine within the meaning of this act solely because the person's practice is experimental or nontraditional.

Interesting to note is the fact that Oklahoma osteopaths are not regulated under the same medical practice act as allopaths as they are in most other states. They have their own osteopathic medical practice act and their own licensing board. The definition of osteopathic medicine, under Oklahoma law, is as follows:

OKLAHOMA OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE ACT

"Osteopathic medicine" means a system of health care founded by Andrew Taylor Still and based on the theory that the body is capable of making its own remedies against disease and other toxic conditions when it is in normal structural relationship and has favorable environmental conditions and adequate nutrition. Osteopathic medicine utilizes generally accepted physical, pharmacological and surgical methods of diagnosis and therapy while placing strong emphasis on the importance of body mechanics and manipulative methods to detect and correct faulty structure and function.

Information about laws in other states:

Coalition for Natural Health (CNH)
http://www.naturalhealth.org

Natural Health Freedom Coalition / Action
http://www.nationalhealthfreedom.org/index.htm

Monica Miller's Health Lobby
http://www.healthlobby.com