Richard Hirschman

[[File:RichardHirschman.gif|thumb|right|165px|Richard Hirschman shows off his white fibrous clot with chunky ball sacs.]]
{{vax}}
{{cquote|Mr. Hirschman demonstrates the qualities of a good embalmer but a terrible scientist.|||Benjamin Schmidt, Science-Based Medicine, December 5, 2022<ref name=sbm051222b/>}}

{{cquote|I’m not a doctor nor a scientist — I never said I was.|||Richard Hirschman, FactCheck.org, December 1, 2022<ref name=factcheck011222/>}}

'''Richard "white fibrous clot with chunky ball sacs"<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220725130929/https://naturalnews.com/2022-07-22-new-stunning-discoveries-blood-clots-covid-vaccinated.html Dr. Jane Ruby: Two new stunning discoveries found in blood clots from the COVID vaccinated – Brighteon.TV] by Kevin Hughes (07/22/2022) ''Natural News'' (archived from July 25, 2022).</ref> Hirschman''' is a licensed funeral director and embalmer in [[Alabama]],<ref name=afpfactcheck190922>[https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32JG7UE US embalmer baselessly links clots to Covid-19 vaccines] (September 19, 2022) ''AFP Fact Check''</ref><ref name=factcheck011222>[https://www.factcheck.org/2022/12/scicheck-died-suddenly-pushes-bogus-depopulation-theory/ ‘Died Suddenly’ Pushes Bogus Depopulation Theory] by Saranac Hale Spencer, Jessica McDonald and Catalina Jaramillo (December 1, 2022) ''FactCheck.org''</ref> whose party trick is to show off his extensive collection of blood clots which he claims to have extracted from the cadavers of the vaccinated deceased (potentially without the permission of the next of kin).<ref name=respectfulisolence190822>[https://www.respectfulinsolence.com/2022/08/19/clot-nonsense-weaponized-against-covid-19-vaccines/ Clot nonsense weaponized against COVID-19 vaccines] by David Gorski (August 19, 2022) ''Respectful Insolence''</ref><ref name=sbm051222a>[https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/died-suddenly-a-tsunami-of-antivax-misinformation-and-conspiracy-theories/ Died Suddenly: A tsunami of antivax misinformation and conspiracy theories] by David Gorski (December 5, 2022) ''Science-Based Medicine''</ref> He maintains he only started finding these “white fibrous clots”,<ref name=factcheck011222/> which look like “calamari”<ref name=healthfeedback291122/> and have "chunky ball sacs",<ref name=respectfulisolence290722>[https://www.respectfulinsolence.com/2022/07/29/jane-ruby-the-mike-adams-of-nursing-and-health-economics/ Jane Ruby: The Mike Adams of nursing and health economics] by David Gorski (July 29, 2022) ''Respectful Insolence''</ref> after the [[COVID-19 vaccine]]s became available, and that they are to be found in 50 to 70 percent of the vaccinated,<ref name=afpfactcheck190922/> but admits he has no actual evidence of a connection between the clots and the vaccines.<ref name=factcheck011222/> Apparently unaware of where to officially report his concerns, Hirschman instead took them to fellow [[cranks]] Jane Ruby, a frequent guest and co-host on [[Alex Jones]]'s [[Infowars]], and Stew Peters, who made Hirschman's testimony a key part of his 2022 American anti-vaccination film ''Died Suddenly''.<ref name=mcgilloss251122>[https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-critical-thinking/anti-vaccine-documentary-died-suddenly-wants-you-feel-not-think The Anti-Vaccine Documentary Died Suddenly Wants You to Feel, Not Think] by Jonathan Jarry (November 25, 2022) ''McGill Office for Science and Society''</ref><ref name=healthfeedback291122>[https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/the-film-died-suddenly-rehashes-debunked-claims-conspiracy-theories-covid-19-vaccines/ The film “Died Suddenly” rehashes debunked claims and conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 vaccines] by Iria Carballo-Carbajal (November 29, 2022) ''Health Feedback''</ref>

== A clot too far ==
Hirschman and his collection of clots made a variety of media appearances throughout 2022 culminating in their movie debut.

=== ''Dr. Jane Ruby Show'' ===
Hirschman publicly unveiled his collection of "fibrous" clots on the January 26, 2022, episode of the ''Dr. Jane Ruby Show'' on the Stew Peters Network Rumble channel, stating that his "gut" tells him that these clots are caused by the vaccine.<ref name=drjanerubyshow260122>[https://rumble.com/vtcsgw-worldwide-exclusive-embalmers-find-veins-and-arteries-filled-with-never-bef.html Worldwide Exclusive: Embalmers Find Veins & Arteries Filled with Never Before Seen Rubbery Clots] (January 26, 2022) ''Stew Peters Network''</ref><ref name=politifact280122>[https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/feb/09/newswars/no-clear-evidence-covid-19-vaccines-are-responsibl/ Embalmers finding ‘strange clots’ in jabbed people], by Naseem Ferdowsi (February 9, 2022) ''PolitiFact''</ref> The US National Funeral Directors Association confirmed annecdotal evidence of an uptick in clots in [[COVID]]-related deaths, however, these had been found in the vaccinated and the unvaccinated alike, and it has been suggested that they may be the result of the coronavirus rather than the vaccine.<ref name=politifact280122/>

Hirschman's collection was subsequently featured in such reputable outlets as [[Alex Jones]]'s ''NewsWars'' (January 28, 2022),<ref name=newswars280122>[https://web.archive.org/web/20230510211843/https://www.newswars.com/pivotal-interview-embalmers-finding-strange-clots-in-jabbed-people/ Shocking Interview: Embalmers Finding “Strange Clots” In Jabbed People] by Kelen McBreen (January 28, 2022) ''NewsWars'' (archived from May 10, 2023)</ref><ref name=politifact280122/>, [[Mike Adams]]' ''[[Natural News]]'' (February 4, 2022),<ref name=naturalnews040222>[https://web.archive.org/web/20240215211449/https://naturalnews.com/2022-02-04-unnatural-blood-clots-found-dead-bodies-vaccinated.html Dr. Jane Ruby: Unnatural blood clots found in dead bodies of vaccinated] by Kevin Hughes (February 4, 2022) ''Natural News'' (archived from February 15, 2024)</ref> and the [[Falun Gong]]'s ''[[Falun Gong#Epoch Times|Epoch Times]]'' (September 2, 2022).<ref name=epochtimes020922>[https://archive.ph/zByZF Embalmers Have Been Finding Numerous Long, Fibrous Clots That Lack Post-Mortem Characteristics] (September 2, 2022) ''Epoch Times'' (archived from September 11, 2022)</ref><ref name=afpfactcheck190922/> Expert responses to these articles noted that it is largely impossible to tell the cause of the clots by looking at them<ref name=afpfactcheck190922/> and that his specimens appear to be nothing more than normal post-mortem clots.<ref name=healthfeedback120922>[https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/mike-adams-flawed-analysis-clot-embalmer-richard-hirschman-doesnt-demonstrate-link-between-blood-clots-and-covid-19-vaccines-epoch-times/ Mike Adams’ flawed analysis of a clot sent by embalmer Richard Hirschman doesn’t demonstrate any link between blood clots and COVID-19 vaccines] by Iria Carballo-Carbajal (September 12, 2022) ''Health Feedback''</ref> Any apparent increase in the number of clots found by embalmers at this time has been put down to bodies spending longer in refrigeration due to the increased demand.<ref name=afpfactcheck190922/> The claims and collection were, nonetheless, subsequently shared widely on social media.<ref name=afpfactcheck190922/><ref name=healthfeedback021122>[https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/photos-blood-clots-embalming-dont-show-link-with-covid-19-vaccines-blood-clotting-risk-higher-after-covid-19/ Photos of blood clots removed during embalming don’t show any link with COVID-19 vaccines; blood clotting risk is much higher after COVID-19 than vaccination] by Iria Carballo-Carbajal (November 2, 2022) ''Health Feedback''</ref>

=== ''Died Suddenly'' ===
{{cquote|Yes, we embalmers love a good clot story, however it seems that the clot story in ''Died Suddenly'' is now being used to repackage many of the same old antivaccination tropes we have heard before.|||Benjamin Schmidt, Science-Based Medicine, December 5, 2022<ref name=sbm051222b/>}}

Hirschman's claim forms the central testimony of the first part of Stew Peters' 2022 American anti-vaccination film ''Died Suddenly''.<ref name=healthfeedback291122/> The consensus of expert responses to the film was again that it is difficult to distinguish antemortem from postmortem clots<ref name=sbm051222a/> and that those in the film appear to be identical to expected post-mortem clotting,<ref name=mcgilloss251122/><ref name=factcheck011222/> and despite Hirschman's claiming to having never seen anything like this before, the film illustrates his claim with footage of clots from 2019 (before COVID-19 vaccines were available).<ref name=factcheck011222/> The authenticity of original autopsy footage in the film has also been cast into doubt by analysis by fellow embalmer Benjamin Schmidt.<ref name=sbm051222b>[https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/a-clot-too-far-an-embalmer-dissects-antivax-misinformation-about-blood-clots-in-died-suddenly/ A clot too far: An embalmer dissects antivax misinformation about blood clots in Died Suddenly] by Benjamin Schmidt, (December 5, 2022) ''Science-Based Medicine''</ref> 

A further criticism as that as an embalmer Hirschman is unlikely to have access to the deceased's medical history, which would be essential for accurately analyzing a cause of death or even to ascertain their vaccination status. This was confirmed by the administrative assistant of one of the funeral homes where Hirschman has worked.<ref name=factcheck011222/> Schmidt's analysis of the film concludes that Hirschman suffers from [[confirmation bias]] and could have found the answers to many of his so-called mysteries by simply cracking open and embalming textbook.<ref name=sbm051222b/>

==See also==
*[[John O'Looney]] — an aptly-named fellow funeral director who appeared alongside Hirschman in ''Died Suddenly'' supporting his clottish claims.

==References==
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[[Category:Anti-vaccination movement]]
[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category:Living people]]

Categories: Anti-vaccination movement, COVID-19, Living people