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	Health Minister Simon Harris is facing calls to criminalise the use of bleach as a controversial &ldquo;cure&rdquo; for autism under child abuse laws, writes Joe Leogue.</p>
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	While the Health Products Regulatory Authority has warned that any manufacture, supply, or sale of the &ldquo;Miracle Mineral Solution&rdquo; (MMS) for the purposes of treating a medical condition is illegal, campaigners want Mr Harris to introduce further deterrents by way of legislation.</p>
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	Autistic Rights Together has called on the Government to make the administering of MMS &mdash; also known as CD Protocol &mdash; to children illegal under child abuse laws, but said Mr Harris has declined its approaches to discuss the issue.</p>
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	The organisation claims that South African authorities are to strengthen their legislation following reports that children with autism there were fed the product.</p>
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	MMS is a mixture of water and sodium chlorite &mdash; a chemical that cannot be sold for human consumption and is used in waste-water treatment and textile bleaching.</p>
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	&ldquo;Autistic Rights Together and many other advocates have been campaigning worldwide for over two years now, trying to put an end to this abuse of autistic children,&rdquo; the group said in a statement.</p>
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	&ldquo;We welcome this very important development in South Africa but we are very disappointed by the lack of action taken by the authorities in Ireland, UK, and other countries.</p>
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	&ldquo;There is no grey area around this issue. MMS/CD Protocol is child abuse.</p>
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	&ldquo;However, our Government is not viewing this barbaric practice as child abuse.&rdquo;</p>
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	The promotion of MMS as a cure for autism was first reported in the Irish Examiner in July 2014, and the product was subsequently the subject of a Prime Time investigation in April 2015.</p>
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	Websites selling the product claim it can cure ailments such as arthritis, cancer, kidney disease, and liver disease.</p>
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	Last year, the Irish Examiner revealed how a group held a meeting at which it demonstrated how to administer MMS.</p>
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	The Genesis II Church of Health and Healing held a weekend seminar in Moone, Co Kildare, last December, at which attendees were charged a &ldquo;donation&rdquo; of &euro;350.</p>
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	The Church is headed by self-appointed archbishop Jim Humble, a former Scientologist who claims to have discovered MMS as a cure for malaria in 1996.</p>
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	Despite the regulatory authority&rsquo;s warnings, local self-proclaimed bishop Joseph Grenon said the HPRA holds no authority over the Genesis II Church.</p>
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	&ldquo;Religious freedom gives us the right to believe, and use, what we deem necessary for our health,&rdquo; he told this newspaper last year.</p>
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	Kerri Rivera, a prominent US proponent of MMS, has dismissed criticisms of the product and claims on her website that &ldquo;the mainstream news media has become nothing more than a mouthpiece for the medical establishment which repeatedly says there is no cure or treatment for autism&rdquo;.</p>
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	&ldquo;It should also be noted that just because the FDA [Food and Drug Administration], NIH [National Institutes of Health], or even a highly respected medical journal says something is (or is not) safe and effective, doesn&rsquo;t make it so,&rdquo; her website states.</p>
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	Mr Harris&rsquo; office had not responded to the Irish Examiner at the time of going to press last night.</p>
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	(Published by the Irish Examiner on the 23<sup><font size="2">rd</font></sup> August 2016)</p>
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	<a href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/health-minister-urged-to-criminalise-controversial-bleach-cure-for-autism-750984.html">http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/health-minister-urged-to-criminalise-controversial-bleach-cure-for-autism-750984.html</a></p>
