Robert S. Mendelsohn
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Robert S. Mendelsohn (July 13, 1926 – April 5, 1988) was an American
pediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...
, anti-vaccinationist and critic of
medical paternalism Medical paternalism is a set of attitudes and practices in medicine in which a physician determines the course of treatment based on the doctor's judgment of what is best for the patient, largely discounting or ignoring the wishes and preferences o ...
. He denounced unnecessary hysterectomies, radical mastectomies, and dangerous medications, reminding his readers of public health failures such as the
1976 swine flu outbreak In 1976, an outbreak of the swine flu, influenza A virus subtype H1N1 at Fort Dix, New Jersey caused one death, hospitalized 13, and led to a mass immunization program. After the program began, the vaccine was associated with an increase in repo ...
and the damage caused to daughters of women who took the drug
diethylstilbestrol Diethylstilbestrol (DES), also known as stilbestrol or stilboestrol, is a nonsteroidal estrogen medication, which is presently rarely used. In the past, it was widely used for a variety of indications, including pregnancy support for those with ...
during pregnancy. He portrayed doctors as powerful priests of a primitive religion, with dishonesty as its central ethic. His mild manner appealed to the public, while his message infuriated his medical colleagues. Mendelsohn wrote a syndicated newspaper column called ''The People's Doctor'', and also produced a newsletter with the same name (the newsletter continued after his death until 1992, under the name ''The Doctor's People''.Eric Zorn
"Medical Pioneer`s Torch Flickers Out"
''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'', April 5, 1992.
) He published five books, including ''Confessions of a Medical Heretic,'' ''Mal(e) Practice: How Doctors Manipulate Women'',Barbara Kleban Mills
"An Outspoken Physician Says the Biggest Threat to a Woman's Health Is Her Own Doctor"
''
People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
'', September 7, 1981.
and ''How to Raise a Healthy Child…In Spite of Your Doctor''. He appeared on over 500 television and radio talk shows.


Education and career

Mendelsohn was born in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, Illinois. He received his
medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...
from the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
in 1951. He was certified by the American Board of Pediatrics. Mendelsohn had a full-time private pediatric practice from 1956 to 1967, and continued to see patients of all ages on a consultancy basis until his death in 1988. For 12 years, Mendelsohn was an instructor at
Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...
Medical College, and was associate professor of pediatrics and
community health Community health refers to non-treatment based health services that are delivered outside Hospital, hospitals and Clinic, clinics. Community health is a subset of public health that is taught to and practiced by Clinician, clinicians as part of th ...
and
preventive medicine Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, is the application of healthcare measures to prevent diseases.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental health a ...
at the
University of Illinois College of Medicine The University of Illinois College of Medicine offers a four-year program leading to the MD degree at four different sites in Illinois: Chicago, Peoria, Illinois, Peoria, Rockford, Illinois, Rockford, and formerly Champaign–Urbana metropolitan ...
for another 12 years. Mendelsohn served as National Director of Project Head Start's Medical Consultation Service, a position he was later forced to resign after criticizing the “deadening atmosphere” of regular public schools. He served as Chairman of the Medical Licensing Committee of
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. He was president of the alternative medicine National Health Federation (NHF) between 1981 and 1982.


Views and reception

Mendelsohn said that the greatest danger to American women's health was often their own doctors, and contended that
chauvinist Chauvinism ( ) is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. The ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' describes it ...
ic physicians subjected female patients to degrading, unnecessary and often dangerous
medical procedure A medical procedure is a course of action intended to achieve a result in the delivery of healthcare. A medical procedure with the intention of determining, measuring, or diagnosis, diagnosing a patient condition or parameter is also called a medi ...
s. Cancer treatments like
hysterectomy Hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus and cervix. Supracervical hysterectomy refers to removal of the uterus while the cervix is spared. These procedures may also involve removal of the ovaries (oophorectomy), fallopian tubes ( salpi ...
and
radical mastectomy Radical mastectomy is a surgical procedure that treats breast cancer by removing the breast and its underlying chest muscle (including pectoralis major and pectoralis minor), and lymph nodes of the axilla (armpit). Breast cancer is the most commo ...
, according to Mendelsohn, were among the most indiscriminately recommended surgical procedures. In an era in which the side effects of medications and the risks of medical treatments were hardly known except to doctors, Mendelsohn insisted that patients, too, had the right to such information. In the first of his books to attract widespread publicity, ''Confessions of a Medical Heretic'' (Contemporary Books 1979), he describes his efforts to make the ''Physician's Desk Reference'', the authoritative guide to medications and medical treatments, available to the public. In ''Confessions'', Mendelsohn argued that the methods of modern medicine were often more dangerous than the diseases they were designed to diagnose and treat. He advised consumers to be suspicious of their doctors. “One of the unwritten rules in Modern Medicine is always to write a prescription for a new drug quickly, before all its side effects have come to the surface.” (''Confessions of a Medical Heretic'', p. 32) Mendelsohn opposed vaccinations for children, claiming the shots are dangerous and worthless. He was an
anti-vaccination Anti-vaccine activism, which collectively constitutes the "anti-vax" movement, is a set of organized activities expressing opposition to vaccination, and these collaborating networks have often sought to increase vaccine hesitancy by dissem ...
activist, an opinion widely rejected by the medical community. His book ''Confessions of a Medical Heretic'' was negatively reviewed in the ''
Journal of the American Medical Association ''JAMA'' (''The Journal of the American Medical Association'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of ...
'', the reviewer noted that "the technique of describing one specific situation or case history and then generalizing to all situations or all case histories is a dangerous one, and such extrapolations are carefully avoided by all responsible scientists. However, this approach of Mendelsohn's supplies the grist for his mill— and its faulty."
Quackwatch Quackwatch is a United States-based website focused on promoting consumer protection and providing information about health related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct. It primarily targets alternative medicine, questionable health cl ...
has noted that Mendelsohn "engaged in irresponsible criticism of the medical profession and science-based health care during most of his medical career."
Nutritionist A nutritionist is a person who advises others on matters of food and Human nutrition, nutrition and their impacts on health. Some people specialize in particular areas, such as sports nutrition, public health, or animal nutrition, among other disci ...
Kurt Butler described Mendelsohn as a "Whiney-voiced crackpot who made himself rich and famous by leading the bash-doctors movements now in vogue. Mendelsohn, now deceased, made a career of telling Americans that their doctors are out to rob and kill them. He urged everyone to avoid doctors and go instead to chiropractors, naturopaths and health fraud store clerks for their health care."


Death

He died April 5, 1988, at his home in
Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...
."Dr. Robert S. Mendelsohn, Medical Critic, 61"
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', April 16, 1988
John Van
"Medical Maverick Robert Mendelsohn"
''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'', April 6, 1988.


Publications

* 1982, ''Male Practice: How Doctors Manipulate Women'', * 1987, ''How To Raise a Healthy Child In Spite of Your Doctor'', NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company, * 1991, ''Confessions of a Medical Heretic'', (This book was first published in 1979) * 1985'', Dissent in Medicine…Nine Doctors Speak Out'', Contemporary Books, Inc. * 1988, ''But Doctor, About That Shot: The Risks of Immunizations and How to Avoid Them'', by Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D., edited by Vera Chatz and published by The People's Doctor, Inc. * ''The People’s Doctor Newsletter'' – published monthly from 1980 to 1988.


References


External links

* http://thepeoplesdoctor.net/ - website about Robert S. Mendelsohn
Quackwatch.org
- 'A Few Notes on Robert Mendelsohn, M.D.,
Quackwatch Quackwatch is a United States-based website focused on promoting consumer protection and providing information about health related frauds, myths, fads, fallacies, and misconduct. It primarily targets alternative medicine, questionable health cl ...
(A critique of Mendelsohn)
Robert Mendelsohn – The First Anti-Vaccine Pediatrician
- Vaxopedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Mendelsohn, Robert S. 1926 births 1988 deaths American pediatricians American anti-vaccination activists University of Chicago alumni Writers from Chicago