Did Scientology Kill Jett Travolta?

Would Jett Travolta still be alive if his parents weren't Scientologists?

As information begins to trickle out about the circumstances surrounding Jett Travolta's death, the inevitable questions have arisen about whether that death could have been avoided. And the number one question in that category is: if Jett Travolta was autistic, and his autism was left untreated because Scientology does not recognise autism as a condition, did the fact that his condition was left untreated factor into his death?

Scientologists believe that all mental illnesses are psychosomatic and that the mentally ill are defective human beings. They teach that the only treatment for mental illness is spiritual healing – or, as Tom Cruise famously suggested for post-partum depression, vitamins – never drugs. They reject the very existence of autism as a condition, but sources close to the Travoltas (including Joey Travolta) have long insisted that Jett was indeed autistic – many forms of which are know to involve violent seizures such as the one that led to his death – and not suffering from the effects of exposure to Kawasaki Disease, as the Travoltas have claimed (a claim widely rejected by KD experts). The Travoltas have long been criticized for refusing to seek a diagnosis and treatment for autism for Jett when, according to many, he was so obviously in need of diagnosis and treatment.

The important thing at the moment, of course, is leaving the Travoltas in peace to grieve the loss of their son. But perhaps this tragedy could serve to remind parents to seek proper diagnoses for their children, even if such diagnoses tell them things that they don't want to hear. Perhaps a life could be, could have been, saved.