On a Sunday in early March, over 200 supporters of natural medicine and health freedom gathered at the Winthrop Barn Theatre in Riverview. Nine statewide organizations hosted the event, with a dozen or more groups participating in the expo. This was a statewide kickoff for Florida’s medical freedom community in advance of the 2025 Florida Legislative session, which began the next day. These groups are a part of the broad coalition of the Make America Healthy Again movement.
The event highlighted an effort to legalize naturopathy and reinstate the license for naturopathic doctors (NDs) in Florida again. Naturopathy is a holistic health profession that is a key part of the health infrastructure of 48 states. But Florida is one of two states where this profession is not embraced — it’s actually illegal. This is a legacy of old lawmaking that dates back to 1958. Supporters who were at this event want to change that and are supporting HB 533/SB 470, a bill put forward by the Florida Naturopathic Physicians Association.
The event featured local naturopathic doctors, who want to serve our communities but can’t fully until the law changes. Kye Peven, a naturopathic doctor who lives in Winthrop and runs Winthrop Natural Medicine, as well as Molly Thelisdort, a naturopathic doctor in Valrico, told their stories and spoke of how they’ve been able to treat patients with affordable, natural health care when they lived and practiced in other states. You can learn more about this effort and its history in Florida at https://legalizenaturopathy.com/.
The event also spotlighted HB 6011/SB 340, a bill being put forward by Stand for Health Freedom that would exit Florida from the World Health Organization.
The day culminated with a keynote presentation by Dr. Pierre Kory, who became famous during COVID-19 for developing early treatment protocols for those infected.
For more information, contact Sarah Sullivan at legalizenaturopathy@gmail.com or visit https://legalizenaturopathy.com/.
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