Doctor: While a few alternative medicines have dangerous side effects, some, such as many herbs, have been proven sa...

Naz on December 28, 2013

The conclusion of the argument is: "advocates of these herbs as remedies for serious illnesses should always be allowed to prescribe them." Why? "...many herbs, have been proven safe to consume," and, since "patients will not be harmed, and might be helped, by the use of these products."

We are looking for the answer choice that will seriously weaken the doctor's argument.

Answer choice (A) does just that. It shows how, even though herbs have been proven safe to consume, there is still a detrimental effect to being allowed to prescribe them - that practitioners and patients neglect more effective conventional medicines in favor of herbal remedies.

Hope that's helpful! Please let us know if you have any more questions.

JayDee8732 on May 12, 2017

Why is B and C incorrect?

Mehran on May 14, 2017

@JayDee8732 (B) is irrelevant. The Doctor concedes that there is little firm evidence of medicinal effect.

(C) also does not weaken. "Some" means at least one patient and this could be true of conventional medicines as well. What about for patients who do not have such allergic reactions?

Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.