The following letter was mailed out Tuesday, May 5, 2020. Something should be done about this.
May 5, 2020
Anne Edwards, MD, FAAP
Senior Vice President, Primary Care and Subspecialty Pediatrics
American Academy of Pediatrics
345 Park Boulevard
Itasca, IL 60143
Dear Dr. Edwards:
My name is Stefani Hutchison and I am an author, blogger and activist dedicated to addressing the dangers posed by the organization known as Scientology.
I am writing to you today concerning an issue of pediatric abuse that is serious enough that it places thousands of children at risk of death. Called The Purification Rundown, this regimen is made up of unproven, unregulated junk science and poses a serious health hazard to the adults who undergo it, let alone the still developing bodies of children as young as 5 years old.
Children in Scientology are considered “adults in small bodies” and so are administered the same massive doses of niacin, vitamins, minerals, Cal-Mag and cooking oil as the grown participants. They are made to spend dangerously extended time in a sauna; for up to five hours at temperatures of up to 170F, this is ten times longer than the recommended maximum. This poses major risks for health; such an extended period of extreme heat can easily lead to hyperthermia, heat exhaustion, salt or potassium depletion, heat stroke and breathing difficulties, which could prove highly dangerous for asthma sufferers. Added to this are periods of running, also to help induce sweating. Combined this procedure is supposed to drive “stored” drugs out of body fat. Scientology explains that toxins and drug residue (prescription and street drugs) are stored in the fat and can flare back up even years later causing issues. For example they teach that LSD is stored in the fat and even if a person becomes sober the stored LSD can suddenly reappear later in life causing the same drug induced effects such as hallucinations.
The Purification Rundown is the primary treatment for their bogus drug treatment facilities, called Narconon, (not to be confused with Narcotics Anonymous), and teens are treated at these facilities. Examiners for The State of Oklahoma reported in 1991 that “The use of high amounts of vitamins and minerals in the amounts described administered by Narconon can be potentially dangerous to the patients of Narconon according to the more credible medical evidence …”
L. Ron Hubbard recommends dosages well above any safe limits, in some cases as much as 142 times more than the toxic level.
The dosages given to children are as follows:
Niacin- begins at 100 mg and goes up to 5000 mgs.
Vitamin A- 5,000 IU – 50,000 IU
Vitamin C- 250-1,000mg – 5,000-6,000mg
Vitamin D- 400-2000 IU
Vitamin E- 800 IU – 2,400 IU
Calcium- 500 – 3000 mgs
Copper – 2-12 mgs
Iron – 18-108 mg
Magnesium – 250 – 1500 mgs
Manganese – 4 -24 mgs
Zinc – 15 – 90 mgs
Again, these supplements are administered along with a Cal-Mag drink and doses of cooking oil, meant to “replace” the fat lost during the detox process.
The dangers to pediatric bodies cannot be overstated. Electrolytes imbalance, dehydration, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are just the tip of the iceberg as far as the risks go.
According to a 2013 article in CardioSmart concerning mega doses of Niacin in regards to cholesterol lowering, “researchers found that the niacin/laropiprant treatment was not effective in reducing risk for heart attack and stroke. In addition, this treatment caused a number of serious complications, such as bleeding, infections, diabetes, skin issues, and gastrointestinal problems.”
So what about children already genetically predisposed to diabetes? Further, without any way to collect data one cannot help but wonder how many children come away from The Purif with ulcerative Colitis or other gastrointestinal issues?
Any child experiencing adverse symptoms and needing treatment at an ER would most likely not be discovered as having undergone The Purif. Scientology parents are indoctrinated not to reveal anything that could potentially damage the “church”. Most likely parents would just advise a physician their child became overheated in sports or playing outside. In the meantime these children have been abused by any definition and they are trapped because there is not enough education about this procedure in the medical field.
My sincere hope is that if Physicians like you and your colleagues could become aware of this situation, perhaps The Purification Rundown can be better understood as the Russian Roulette with children’s health and lives that it is. More education can lead to better understanding and hopefully open the door for mandated reporters to provide help and safety for these children without a choice or a voice.
I sincerely thank you for taking the time to read this and consider the deadly serious threat this so-called treatment is for children
Sincerely,
Stefani A. Hutchison
Confront And Shatter 