The Pro-Disease Movement: Parents Who Want Their Kids to Catch Deadly Illnesses

Over coffee at a Texas Starbucks, Del Bigtree made a confession that would horrify most parents: he wants his teenage son to catch polio. And measles. And whooping cough. In fact, he's considered driving his unvaccinated family to disease outbreak zones just to expose them to "natural" infections.

This isn't the rambling of an internet troll. Bigtree is one of America's most influential anti-vaccine advocates, a close adviser to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the producer behind the 2016 documentary that helped mainstream the modern anti-vaccine movement. His weekly show The HighWire reaches millions, and his nonprofit has raised millions more to fight school vaccine mandates nationwide.

The Ferrari of Immunity vs. Ford Pintos

Bigtree's philosophy goes beyond simple vaccine skepticism—he's actively pro-infection. He believes children who catch diseases naturally develop what he calls the "Ferrari of immunity," while vaccinated kids are stuck driving "Ford Pintos."

"I genuinely am upset that your kids are vaccinated, because it's keeping my kids from getting chickenpox," he explained during our interview. "I believe their health depends on them catching those live viruses."

When asked if he wanted his children to contract all vaccine-preventable diseases, his answer was unequivocal: "Yes."

This worldview led him to prefer the risks of actual diseases over vaccination. He told me he'd rather accept polio's dangers than what he claims is a "one-in-fucking-12.5" chance of autism from vaccines—a statistic he's misinterpreted from CDC data that includes the entire autism spectrum, most of whom live independent lives.

The Deadly Reality Behind the Philosophy

Bigtree's preferred diseases aren't the mild childhood inconveniences he portrays them as. Before vaccines:

• Whooping cough killed 4,000 Americans annually
• Polio outbreaks claimed thousands of lives each year
• Just last year, two unvaccinated children in West Texas died from measles

Yet Bigtree dismisses these statistics, insisting that vaccine-preventable illnesses "simply aren't so bad." He even flew to Cancún in 2021 for a blood transfusion specifically from unvaccinated donors when he became severely anemic.

The Science vs. The Conspiracy

Bigtree makes two core claims that contradict established science:

First, that rising autism rates since the 1990s result from vaccination rather than improved diagnostic criteria and surveillance—a connection dozens of studies have failed to establish.

Second, that childhood vaccines lack proper safety testing. While he demands "double-blind placebo trials," such studies would be unethical for life-saving vaccines, requiring researchers to deliberately leave children vulnerable to deadly diseases.

The medical consensus remains clear: vaccines are among the safest and most effective public health interventions ever developed.

Tension Within the Movement

Even within anti-vaccine circles, Bigtree's extremism causes friction. When Kennedy posted that "the most effective way to prevent measles is the MMR vaccine" during last year's Texas outbreak, Bigtree publicly contradicted him, claiming the vaccine "was also one of the most effective ways to cause autism."

This exchange contributed to Bigtree stepping down as CEO of MAHA Action, Kennedy's nonprofit. Yet he remains disappointed that Kennedy hasn't gone far enough in dismantling vaccine recommendations, calling the health secretary's tenure "mostly a failure" if certain anti-vaccine studies aren't conducted.

The Broader Cultural Context

Bigtree's influence extends beyond medicine into America's broader distrust of institutions. His message resonates particularly in communities already skeptical of government authority—like the Waldorf school parents who followed him when he started a COVID-restriction-free alternative during the pandemic.

This isn't just about vaccines; it's about who Americans trust with their children's health. Bigtree, despite having no medical training, has positioned himself as a truth-teller fighting pharmaceutical conspiracies, a narrative that appeals to parents feeling overwhelmed by conflicting health information.