Italian Communist Party

ABSTRACT: It is absolutely necessary to bear in mind that the concept of freedom must take shape in our country also as regards the citizen's choices in the defence of his health.

(Papers of the Transnational Conference: "THE HOMOEOPATIC REMEDY-NON-MEDICINE. A PROPOSAL FOR RECOGNITION" - Rome 12th and 13th december 1988).

I wish to thank you for having invited me to this interesting Meeting which has given me the chance of verifying and comparing as a Communist member of Parliament a similar proposal for a bill of law on which we are working concerning the discipline of production and sale of homoeopathic products.

The first problem is that of training and then comes the problem of inserting Homoeopathic Medicine within the National Health Service and of course that of visists by homoeopathic doctors.

All this must be faced soon because we are the only country of Western Europe, together with Spain and Portugal, which has not laws concerning Homoeopathy or has not regulated this subject. Bearing in mind the lengthy periods needed by our Parliament for such decisions, we should make an effort to give a global response to the entire subject, to your debate and to the interventions which followed, which have encouraged us to face the above aspects.

It is absolutely necessary to bear in mind the idea of freedom which must take shape in our country also as regards the citizen's choice in defence of his health.

There is much to say on the weaknesses, cultural and organizational deficiencies fo the National Helath Service. This cultural element which is at the basis of this important law of reform has spread throughout the population and thus I believe that Parliament has to intervene and issue a law which takes into account the freedom of the Italian citizen to have different references within medicine.

I believe that within a vast range of therapeutical approaches (thermalism, herbnorists, natural medicines, etc.) the citizens must be able to make comparisons and follow their personal cultural trends. Thus, the National Helath Service in its whole must be able to give adequate responses. It may be a sign of weakness to limit the bill of law to the sole recognition of Homoeopathic Remedies. I thus hope that the other problems will also be faced and discussed at the Social Affairs Committee.

A cognitive survey carried out by Parliament as regards the global expenditure of the Italians, the semi-free treatments of the National Health Service excluded, has shown that they spend fifteenthousand billion lire besides the contributions given by the State.

This proves the inefficiency of the National Health Service as it is at present in our country and the need to intervene individually or as a family group, in defence of one's health.

Thanking you for your attention, I wish to state once again the need of a confrontation furing the debate at the parliamentary committee which I hope will take place as soon as possible to give concrete responses to the apsects discusses today, aiming at approving a valid organic law regarding the complex problem of Homoeopathy.