Doctor on Trial: The Landmark Battle for Medical Freedom of Choice

The battle for medical freedom of choice is not new ... it's been raging for more than 100 years. Why then does conventional medicine still continue to question the convictions of natural practitioners by pushing the "benefits" of synthetic drugs over natural remedies? For example, why is it patients with terminal illnesses must find treatment in other countries such as Mexico? Is it because the natural treatment they seek is illegal in the United States and they are forced to find it elsewhere?Doctor on Trial is the true story of Dr. Harold Solem, chiropractor and naturopath, who endured decades-long opposition so future generations might freely choose their physician (alternative or conventional) and their preferred method of treatment (natural remedies or synthetic drugs).But storm clouds were forming on the horizon and Dr. Harold was ensnared by the tentacles of the medical machine. Alternative medicine had begun to flourish, so conventional medicine launched its campaign of "containment and elimination of chiropractic."At the age of 87, Dr. Harold was incarcerated for his unconventional convictions, then acquitted at the fifth trial. He had won the first such case in the State of Illinois! After hearing the judge's decision, the prosecuting attorney whispered to Harold's defense attorney, "This case never should have been brought to court!" Why then was it? Dr. Harold Solem had been denied his right to medical freedom of choice!Doctor on Trial reveals the hidden history behind the 170-year conflict between the nation's two medical systems.Early in his practice, Dr. Harold was drafted to serve in World War I and while on board ship to Europe, treated desperately ill servicemen suffering from the effects of the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918. Following his discharge from the Army medical corps and returning home, he treated patients throughout the Great Depression, many of whom had been given up by conventional medicine.Woven into this narrative, written by Dr. Harold's daughter Merilyn, are her family's battles against the ravages of three potentially life-threatening illnesses. Merilyn and her husband Lawrence were in their early 40s. Lawrence was diagnosed with cancer and diabetes, and Merilyn with crippling rheumatoid arthritis. They had chosen to ignore her father's wise teachings and adamant warnings about their unhealthy lifestyle during the first 20 years of marriage. They were now faced with three frightening wake-up calls. Their prognoses? For Lawrence: "possibly five years." Merilyn's medical doctor warned her, "There is no cure for rheumatoid arthritis. Without medication, you will eventually be confined to a wheelchair." The outcome? By returning to Dr. Harold's teachings, Lawrence lived another 30 years without a recurrence of cancer or diabetes. It is forty-five years later and Merilyn has never needed a wheelchair. At the height of her symptoms, she earned her RN from a four-year medical hospital where she witnessed the dangers of drugs, radiation and elective surgeries.