REFORM libel laws? - a case of uncomplimentary medicine

The Daily Mail HERE reports that Stephen Fry and Dara O'Briain are two of those supporting a doctor who is being sued for libel
by the British Chiropractic Association.  See Jack of Kent's earlier anylysis

QUOTE: Stephen Fry said: 'When a powerful organisation tries to
silence a man of Simon Singh's reputation, anyone who believes in
science, fairness and the truth should rise in indignation.'

Indignation: Broadcaster Stephen Fry, left, and comedian Dara O'Briain are campaigning in support of Dr Singh

Dr Singh's article attacked chiropractors for claiming that
they could treat complaints and conditions unconnected to back
problems. The British Chiropractic Association says its techniques
'improve the efficiency of the nervous system and release the body's
natural healing ability'.

It said in a statement that Dr Singh 'could have retracted the
remarks and apologised and the debate would have continued away from
the legal world. He chose not to do so.

'To stifle scientific debate would clearly be wrong. However,
with rights comes responsibility, and scientists must realise they
cannot simply publish with impunity what they know to be untrue and
libellous.'

Mr Justice Eady has been accused of promoting 'libel tourism'
after finding for a Saudi banker against an American author whose book
had not even been published in Britain.

The decision provoked deep criticism in the U.S. Several
states have responded to Britain's strengthened libel laws by stopping
their courts enforcing foreign libel judgments.

I think that as with The Countryside Alliance, who used fox hunting as
the focus in trying get the government to recognize the needs of the
countryside, this may not be the best example for arguing against the
ferocious libel laws in the UK. 



I don't really care if a doctor calls some form of complementary
medicine quackery - its been going on a long time.  I don't really care
because I live with someone who has been periodically crippled for
weeks on end by a 50 year-old back injury.  She and I know that when
the excruciating pain is impossible to cope with its a chiropractor or
an osteopath that helps.  The NHS has been useless or worse than
useless.  In this case wouldn't a few score letters deal with the issue
(the Daily Mail article had 34 responses from readers when I saw it) -
why does it have to become an expensive legal process, that indirectly
we will have to pay for.  This at a time when there seems to be some
progress in NHS use of complementary medicine.

What do you think?

Related articles by Zemanta:

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