With water fluoridation, however,
entire communities are being forced to take a medicine, whether
they want it or not. "The voluntary consent of the human subject"
which the writers of the Nuremberg
Code saw as "absolutely essential" to protect citizens
against medical abuse, is unfortunately not seen as essential in
the case of fluoridation.
In the case of fluoridation, a person has the de facto right to
force their neighbor to take a particular medication, regardless
of whether that neighbor wishes to take it. For instance, when 52%
of San Antonians voted "yes" to fluoridation, the 48%
of San Antonians who voted "no" consequently lost their
right to informed consent. (As it stands today, nearly half of San
Antonio's population will be denied the right "to participate
in choices about [their] health care" and denied the right
"to direct what happens to [their] body.") The situation
in San Antonio is by no means unique.
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Fluoridation & Informed Consent |
|
|
Fluoride Action Network July 10, 2001 Fluoridation vs. Informed Consent by Michael Connett One of the problems with fluoridation of public
water is that it violates a key tenet of medical ethics - the principle
of informed consent.
Promoters of water fluoridation praise it as being
the best means to "maximize patient compliance" (Brunelle
& Carlos, 1990, pg. 727); but in so doing they forget that communities
or city councils should not be in a position to enforce "patient
compliance" on anyone. Especially when such an inexpensive
alternative (fluoridated toothpaste) is so readily available for
those who want fluoride. And even more so when such alternatives
(fluoridated toothpaste) apply the fluoride topically to the teeth.
(According to the CDC, fluoride's benefits "primarily are topical.")
If this were the case, however, people would not need a prescription in order to receive a fluoride supplement. As it currently stands, if one wishes to receive a 1 milligram dose of fluoride every day via a pill (which is the dose of fluoride that fluoridation is intended to deliver) one needs to receive a prescription by a doctor or dentist. However, if one receives 1 milligram of fluoride a day through their drinking water (where dose-control is far worse than with a pill) no prescription is required. Such an act of turning the water supply into a prescription drug, where no prescription is required, is not something which should be taken lightly - as noted recently by last years Nobel Laureate in Medicine, Dr. Arvid Carlsson. Fluoride supplements come with detailed instructions and warnings concerning how the patient should use the drug and what side effects to look out for (see below). When reviewing these instructions and warnings, the discrepancy in medical standards and care that exists between city council's adding fluoride to everyone's water - versus a doctor making individualized prescriptions to individual patients, becomes clear. As Dr. Peter Mansfield, Director of Templegarth Trust, has stated:
Mansfield's view - that it is inappropriate
to use the water supply as a vehicle with which to deliver medicine
to a portion of the community - is a view that is shared by the
vast majority of western Europe, with countries such as France,
Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, and Austria rejecting
fluoridation decades ago, in large part, due to the problems of
"compulsion medication." (Read
recent letters from these government's explaining their position.)
Unfortunately, however, the ever obvious fact that fluoridation undermines people's right to consent is all but ignored by the US dental/medical community. Excerpts from medical instructions for drugs designed to deliver 1 Mg of Fluoride per day. Sodium Fluoride (Systemic)
Brand Names: In the U.S. -- Fluoritab, Fluorodex, Flura,
Flura-Drops, Flura-Loz, Karidium, Luride, Luride Lozi-Tabs, Luride-SF
Lozi-Tabs, Pediaflor, Pharmaflur, Pharmaflur 1.1, Pharmaflur df,
Phos-Flur Before Using This Medicine --Sodium fluoride may make these conditions worse Check with your health care professional
as soon as possible if any of the following side effects occur: MULTIVIDREN-F SOFTAB Tablets Physicians' Desk Reference - 1993, pg. 2376
Sodium Fluoride Brand Name: Luride Pediaflor Medication instructions for Department of Veteran
Affairs Pain or aching of bones; stiffness; white, brown, or black discoloration of teeth |
Fluoride Action Network | 802-338-5577 | info@fluoridealert.org |