I normally have deep sympathy for suicide victims, but there are rare exceptions. For example, I wasn't sad when Ariel Castro offed himself, and I'm not particularly sad that Jeff Bradstreet-- a child-abusing quack who endangered dozens of kids' lives with his "alternative" treatments-- is dead.
Bradstreet was an example of a truly vile and disgusting human being who put his goal of profit far ahead of his oath to protect his patients.
He became famous when he published a series of studies, none of which made the cut for peer-reviewed scientific journals, stating that thimerosal-- a mercury compound once used as a preservative in vaccines-- is the sole cause of autism. I don't even need to cite studies to debunk his claims, since autism rates have continued to rise since thimerosal was removed from routine immunizations, and since my own daughter was autistic before she was ever vaccinated. But, for the record, 131 studies- 107 of them listed here-- have found no link between vaccines and autism.
Bradstreet's practices went far beyond simply encouraging parents to avoid vaccines, although that would be dangerous enough. He subjected children to painful and dangerous procedures that were entirely unnecessary and provided no benefit. One of thousands of victims was Colten Snyder, whose parents brought him to Bradstreet's office 160 times in eight years.
There was no reason to believe that Colten was suffering from mercury poisoning. A hair test showed a low level of mercury in his hair-- less than average for his age-- while a urine test found no detectable mercury, and five blood tests over the course of six years showed mercury levels well within the normal range. But Bradstreet insisted that-- since mercury is the only cause of autism-- Colten was suffering from severe mercury poisoning.
What ensued can only be described as medical torture. Colten was subjected to numerous spinal taps, had scopes inserted into his stomach, and-- worst of all-- was forced into years of chelation therapy. Chelation therapy is a last-resort treatment for serious forms of confirmed heavy metal poisoning. It is only used in extreme cases because it is an inherently dangerous process, even when medically necessary. When administered by quacks like Bradstreet, it routinely causes dehydration, malnutrition, kidney damage, liver damage, allergic reactions, anemia, cancer, and-- ironically-- developmental disabilities caused by the toxicity of the treatment.
Even Jeff Bradstreet himself admitted that Colten reacted poorly to chelation therapy. After each session, he would experience discomfort, illness, weakness, and developmental regression. Yet Bradstreet continued milking Colten's parents for money while administering abusive treatments for eight whole years. In 2009, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims determined that not only had Bradstreet engaged in dangerous and unnecessary mistreatment of Colten, but that Colten's treatment was indicative of a larger pattern of medical abuse of autistic children in Bradstreet's hands.
Bradstreet managed to continue practicing his corrupt and abusive form of medicine, but not without drawing the attention of the FDA. In June of 2015, the FDA raided Bradstreet's office with the help of the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency. Although the FDA hasn't been clear about the reason for the search, the involvement of the GDNA suggests that he may have been involved in dealing controlled substances in addition to his long-standing career in the medical abuse of children. Whatever was found during the raid, it was damning enough that Bradstreet shot himself less than a week after the search, while the FDA carried out their investigation.
It's not surprising that conspiracy theorists have claimed that-- in some mind-blowing effort orchestrated effort by the Pharmaceutical Industry, the FDA, the GDNA, local and federal law enforcement, and an unspecified hitman-- Bradstreet was murdered. They say that this was to hide the success of his "treatments" and to continue covering up a link between autism and immunization. So far, I haven't heard anyone explain how murdering him could have possibly been necessary or beneficial to preserving anyone's profits, but conspiracy theorists aren't known for being the most sane or stable people.
I feel sorry for Jeff Bradstreet's family and loved ones. Losing a loved one is always difficult, especially when it happens through suicide. However, I have very little sympathy for Bradstreet himself. I don't feel sorry for people who become wealthy by abusing children and then make a cowardly escape when there a a threat of accountability. When child abusers die, it makes the world is a safer and healthier place for children. My sympathy goes only to his loved ones and his victims.
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