Her diabolical demeanor over systematic knowledge, observable facts, and actions of fundamental laws are proof of professional incompetence
Earlier this month, the Texas Medical Board took what it called “corrective action” against a notorious Houston physician, Dr. Stella Immanuel, who had stubbornly prescribed hydroxychloroquine to treat patients’ COVID-19 infection without adequately explaining the health consequences.
Immanuel, tagged the “demon sperm” doctor for ascribing gynecological issues to people “having sex in their dreams with demons and witches”, gained national attention in 2020 for pushing hydroxychloroquine as a “cure” for COVID-19. In numerous studies, however, COVID-19 patients experienced no meaningful benefit from this medication, with some studies indicating a greater risk of heart rhythm problems.
The medical board’s decision come across as a mild slap on the wrist, however, based on Immanuel’s destructive anti-COVID crusading and the amount of risk she currently poses to society. The board ordered Immanuel to submit proof of informed consent—permission given by a patient who understands the possible health outcomes—for all off-label treatments she provides. Furthermore, she must adopt policies that require all consent documents to be reviewed and signed by the patient for off-label treatment. She must also pay $500 to the medical board, which seems inconsequential.
In July 2020, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube removed a video that went viral featuring a group of doctors making reckless and dubious claims about the coronavirus. The individuals in the video presented themselves as a group wearing white laboratory coats and referred to themselves as “America’s Frontline Doctors”, and claimed to have staged a press conference in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, where they denounced the deadly impact of COVID-19. The video became a cornerstone of Donald Trump’s anti-COVID-19 campaign. He shared multiple versions of the video with his 84 million Twitter followers and publicized its content in his campaign speeches.
America’s Frontline Doctors is a notorious right-wing political organization affiliated with Tea Party Patriots co-founder, Jenny Beth Martin. From masks to lockdowns and vaccination, this group is opposed to measures intended to control the COVID-19 pandemic.
It appears, however, that Immanuel is the most notorious among these white-coated touts. She has taken her vicious crusade far beyond the front steps of the US Supreme Court and pushed it to a deadly level of falsehoods. She has created anti-science campaign literature and platforms that push inconceivable conspiracy theories that are antagonistic toward the discipline of medicine.
Roughly in July 2020, when Immanuel was on the rampage with her anti-COVID gospel, the US had recorded 1.87 million new casesf COVID-19, with total infections numbering 4.5 million, representing a 69% increase since the pandemic. During the same period, Texas recorded its third-largest increase of approximately 260,000. At the time of writing, the US has recorded 46,697,360 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 755,950 deaths due to the virus.
Nonetheless, a defiant Immanuel created controversial viral videos that claimed an anti-malarial drug, hydroxychloroquine, as a cure for COVID-19, even when such claims were widely disputed by most medical experts, the World Health Organization, and the US Food and Drug Administration. The most dangerous aspect of these false claims is that they went viral worldwide after President Trump and one of his sons shared Immanuel’s conspiracy videos. She created videos consistently and used several social media accounts and platforms to disseminate them. Some of these videos were cited and taken down by YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook for violating their misinformation policies; this did not, however, stop Immanuel. She forcefully criticized Facebook and Twitter after the social media platforms removed one of her controversial videos touting hydroxychloroquine, and declared on Twitter that “Jesus Christ would destroy Facebook’s servers if her videos weren’t restored to the platform.” In a recorded voice message, she stated, “Hello Facebook, put back my profile page and videos…or your computers [will] start crashing [until] you do,” in an overnight post. “You are not bigger than God. I promise you. If my page is not [put back up] Facebook will be down in Jesus [‘] name.” These comments were made by a supposed medical doctor, a pediatrician overseeing patients who were primarily children.
Scrutiny of Stella Immanuel should not be limited to the wrongful prescription/treatment of COVID-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine, but must also entail a thorough investigation of her efforts in spearheading a deceptive anti-COVID-19 campaign in the current pandemic context.
Immanuel insistently denounced the use of face masks, claiming that they were not necessary to stop the transmission of the highly contagious COVID-19. It is also surprising that Immanuel, who is both a pediatrician and a religious minister, had been allowed to get away with making bizarre claims about core medical matters. She has often claimed that gynecological problems like cysts and endometriosis are caused by people having sex in their dreams with “demons and witches”. She alleged that “alien DNA” was currently being used in medical treatments, and that scientists were creating a vaccine to prevent people from being religious. She also said that “the government” was run in part not by humans but by “reptilians” and other aliens.
What will it take to realize that this woman is mentally unstable and should not be allowed to practice medicine? What other evidence will be required to prove that her relentless anti-science, anti-medicine, and anti-COVID promotions exaggerated the surmounting skepticism that hampers America’s path to recovery from the pandemic? Indeed, Stella Immanuel violated the State’s administrative code concerning misleading and deceptive advertising. For example, she “disseminates false, deceptive, or misleading” materials; her claims are false, harmfully deceptive, and cannot be substantiated, and she consistently and falsely promoted hydroxychloroquine as a permanent cure for COVID-19.
The Texas Medical Board must review its decision about this “doctor” and remove her from healthcare before she causes more harm. Her diabolical demeanor about systematic knowledge, observable facts, and the actions of fundamental laws are proof of her professional incompetence. Scrutiny of Stella Immanuel should not be limited to the wrongful prescription/treatment of COVID-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine, but must also entail a thorough investigation of her efforts in spearheading a deceptive anti-COVID-19 campaign in the current pandemic context. The destructive impact of her anti-mask and anti-vaccine campaigns must be considered when deciding disciplinary measures against her.
♦ Professor Anthony Obi Ogbo, Ph.D. is on the Editorial Board of the West African Pilot News. Article is also published in the West African Pilot News
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