Predatory Monster Cons Parents With Dangerous And Phony Autism Cure
Leon Edwards is an asshole. I’m sorry, I know I’m supposed to be doing some nuanced reporting and intelligent commentary here, but I’m so mad I just want to fling my computer and go outside and look at the sky for a few hours, because an utter monster by the name of Leon Edwards has allegedly been caught tricking parents with a phony “autism cure” that includes putting bleach in babies’ bottles.
According to the BBC, which investigated “Reverend” Leon Edwards of the Genesis II Church, Edwards has been hawking a “miracle cure” called “Miracle Mineral Solution,” or MMS. He has reportedly said MMS will cure autism and Alzheimer’s and a host of other diseases. According to The BBC:
Through his website, Mr Edwards, who says he is not attending the conference, sold the researcher the one bottle of liquid labelled as 22.4% sodium chlorite and a second labelled as 4% hydrochloric acid.
When the BBC sent the chemicals to Kent Scientific Services, an independent laboratory, they were found to be 57% and 45% stronger than the advertised concentration respectively.
Several experts spoke with the BBC about how there is no evidence that ingesting bleach through the mouth or through enemas would have any positive effect towards the treatment of autism. But Edwards allegedly told the reporter that it was a “sacrament” and a cure-all.
“It’s helping people get well from all sorts of diseases – cancer, HIV, malaria,” Edwards told the undercover reporter. “It’s cleaning the body out. And nearly all the illnesses are getting removed with this. I’m not gonna say cure … because I can get in trouble. I’d say purge. It can purge autism. Alzheimer’s too. 170 children have had their diagnosis removed of autism in four years.”
That is an unconscionable thing to be telling worried parents even if all you are selling is water in a bottle or a couple harmless crystals, but what Edwards was shilling was reportedly an actual solution of bleach, and he reportedly told the undercover journalist that the proper dosage for an infant was to give 27 drops in the baby’s bottle. Of bleach. Drops of bleach. In a baby’s bottle.
Dr. Sarah Jarvis told the BBC that ingesting bleach could cause scarring to the esophagus, damage to the stomach, and even death.
“A very small amount of concentrated bleach has the possibility of doing great harm,” she said. “This is particularly true of a child’s gut lining, which is thinner than an adults.”
Edwards, however, reportedly boasted that there was nothing the government could do to stop his MMS operation.
“They’re never gonna shut me down,” Edwards reportedly said. “All they can do is put me in a prison cell.”
Good. And I hope they do it, too.
(Photo: Shutterstock)
