Posted on 01/28/2008 11:54:13 PM PST by bd476
ABC Show Will Go on, Over Protest by Doctors
By EDWARD WYATT
Published: January 29, 2008
ABC said on Monday it would include a disclaimer about the plot line of the debut episode of the drama “Eli Stone,” which links childhood vaccines to autism, and direct viewers to a government Web site that discredits such a link.
ABC’s decision follows a call by the American Academy of Pediatrics for ABC to cancel the opening episode of “Eli Stone,” which is scheduled to be broadcast at 10 p.m. Thursday.
In a letter to ABC executives on Friday, Dr. Renee R. Jenkins, the president of the pediatrics academy, warned that the episode “could lead to a tragic decline in immunization rates.” The first episode portrays a lawyer who wins a case against a drug company on behalf of a mother who believes that a preservative in a vaccine caused her child’s autism.
The link between a vaccine preservative called thimerosal and autism has been debated for much of the last decade, but many scientific studies have failed to show any causal link between the two.
The letter from the pediatrics group followed an article in The New York Times last week highlighting..."
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Associated Press:
28 January 2008
Pediatricians Group Wants Show Canceled
By LINDSEY TANNER – 6 hours ago
CHICAGO (AP) — The nation's largest pediatricians' group on Monday said ABC should cancel the first episode of a new series because it perpetuates the myth that vaccines can cause autism.
ABC's new drama, "Eli Stone," debuts on Thursday. It features British actor Jonny Lee Miller as a prophet-like lawyer who in the opening episode argues in court that a flu vaccine made a child autistic. When it is revealed in court that an executive at the fictional vaccine maker didn't allow his own child to get the shot, jurors side with the family, giving them a huge award.
The show's co-creators say they're not anti-vaccine and would be upset if parents chose not to immunize their children after seeing the show.
But, said Dr. Renee R. Jenkins, president of the influential American Academy of Pediatrics, "A television show that perpetuates the myth that vaccines cause autism is the height of reckless irresponsibility on the part of ABC and its parent company, The Walt Disney Co."
"If parents watch this program and choose to deny their children immunizations, ABC will share in the responsibility for the suffering and deaths that occur as a result. The consequences of a decline in immunization rates could be devastating to the health of our nation's children," Jenkins said in a statement.
Autism is a complex disorder featuring repetitive behaviors and poor social interaction and communication skills. Scientists generally believe that genetics plays a role in causing the disorder; a theory that a mercury-based preservative once widely used in childhood vaccines is to blame has been repeatedly discounted in scientific studies.
The academy released the text of a letter Jenkins wrote on Friday, addressed to Anne Sweeney, president of Disney-ABC Television Group. In the letter, Jenkins writes that many viewers "trust the health information presented on fictional television shows, which influences their decisions about health care. "
Jenkins noted that erroneous reports in the United Kingdom linking the measles vaccine to autism prompted a decline in vaccination and the worst outbreak of measles in two decades.
Greg Berlanti, a co-creator of the show, said the episode is fictional but designed "to participate in what is a national conversation" about a controversial subject. He said the boy who plays the autistic child has autism, but that the show's producers have no connection with advocates involved in the autism debate.
"We would be deeply upset" if parents opted against vaccination because of the episode, Berlanti said.
Marc Guggenheim, who helped create the show, said the first episode shows how a fictional company covered up a study that raised questions about its product, and that the message is really about "the downside of the corporatization of America."
On the Net:
Academy: http://www.aap.org
ABC: http://www.abc.com
As opposed to the communization of America perhaps?
Let the show go on. The Docs cna protest all the way to the bank as usual.
They use mercury as a preservative for vaccines. Keep in mind that the pharmaceutical companies are interested in profit. I know I used to work for one.
There is no safe level of Mercury especially for children.
Except they have stopped using the mercury, and after the change the rates of autism continued to rise, indicating it was not the mercury.
This is a tough call. The ABC show is basically arguing for freedom of speech.
The Doctors' group and others are arguing against what they are basically labeling as reckless disinformation and rumors about the safety of childhood vaccinations.
Measles, mumps, rubella, whooping cough, smallpox, polio, etc. used to cripple and/or kill children and adults.
The higher the number of children denied immunization based upon parental fears that immunizations cause autism, the greater the risk of reemergence of deadly illnesses, sadly resulting in an increase in the number of deaths from preventable diseases.
Yet the anti-immunization side has many heartrending anecdotal stories with claims that childhood vaccines cause autism.
I have a couple of anecdotal stories, one from my childhood, and a current one.
When I was in third grade, one day a friend told me that her brother had died from whooping cough. It was very sad hearing that and I began crying right along with my friend.
It didn't occur to me to be frightened because I had never heard of whooping cough. It also didn't occur to me that my friend's brother had exposed everyone in my friend's family and everyone at school. My childhood naivete back then protected me from fear and allowed my sadness to govern.
Today I have friends who had a lovely baby boy born about fourteen years ago. Sometime around their son's third birthday, the parents noticed that their son had some very serious behavior problems. The Mother was convinced that her son had autism and that the autism was caused by the vaccinations given to her son shortly after his birth.
The couple spent the next several years taking their son to different specialists. Finally a doctor diagnosed the boy as having Asperger's Syndrome, which is one of many autism disorders along the autism spectrum.
After seeing the boy's many struggles, after hearing the parents' endless stories, including how much work they went through, first in getting their son diagnosed and then finding adequate treatment for him, I admit to having some difficulty not believing that the vaccinations may have caused their son's autism.
Yet the couple's second born child, a girl, also began displaying similar behaviors at the same age her brother had first begun displaying his autism symptoms. As I recall, the couple had not permitted doctors to give their daughter any vaccinations.
This raises a couple of questions. In the case of my friends and their son and daughter, both diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, it seems that Asperger's might have been a disorder which was genetically based.
Yet what parent in their right mind would risk their child getting Asperger's Syndrome by relying on current medical opinion that Asperger's Syndrome is just a heritable illness and that childhood vaccines are safe?
What parent could be reassured that they have nothing to fear from currently recommended childhood immunizations, especially, as in the case of my friends, if they already had one vaccinated child diagnosed as having autism?
And then there's my childhood friend's brother who died of whooping cough.
What parent in their right mind would put their child at risk of dying from a preventable illness by forbidding their child the protection afforded by childhood vaccines?
I believe in freedom of speech, otherwise, someone today might say that I have no right to type up my opinion nor share my anecdotal stories.
However freedom of speech ends when someone wants to yell "FIRE!" in a crowded theater.
In this case, I don't see any difference between someone yelling "FIRE!" in a crowded theater and the network airing a show portraying parents of an autistic child winning millions of dollars in a lawsuit against a medical corporation in a claim that their child's autism was caused by childhood vaccinations.
What I find interesting is wondering if there is perhaps a link between the vaccinations these autistic children’s parents’ received as children — there is definitely something causing the genetic problems with the rise in Autism...
Ah, the usual “fake but accurate” defense from the cultural commisars of the left. It never matters whether they present actual facts accurately, because their intentions are so good (sic) and they are so anxious to save us all from some kind of ill, even if it’s not the one portrayed in their propaganda.
Vaccines have a mercury based preservative called thimerasol. There is no safe level of Mercury exposure. Why is thimerasol banned in more than 20 contries but not the U.S. ?
It may not be the vaccine itself causing the damage but something is, and the number of vaccines that children are being given has increased in recent years.
Its probably the mercury.
“In that case, airing this unsupported claim of dangerous vaccinations is just irresponsible.”
Irresponsible in the extreme.
But what the hell, it’s only kid’s lives we’re talking about, and it is sure to improve ratings.
Check the records. The number of vaccines that children are being given has increased.
Uuuuh check the records its still being used especially in the united states.
Except they have stopped using the mercury, and after the change the rates of autism continued to rise, indicating it was not the mercury.
So, it’s jupiter? Perhaps Mars Bars? I’m betting on Moon Pies!
I think you just hit the nail on the head.
Well said!
That doesn't explain the unvaccinated autistic child of my friends, and thus it also does not explain her vaccinated autistic brother.
From the CDC:
Mercury and Vaccines (Thimerosal)
Thimerosal is a mercury-containing preservative used in some vaccines and other products since the 1930s.
There is no convincing scientific evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines, except for minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site.
However, in July 1999, the Public Health Service agencies, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and vaccine manufacturers agreed that thimerosal should be reduced or eliminated in vaccines as a precautionary measure.
Since 2001, with the exception of some influenza (flu) vaccines, thimerosal is not used as a preservative in routinely recommended childhood vaccines.
CDC Statement on Autism and Thimerosal
As the country's leading public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is committed to protecting the health of all Americans—including infants, children, and adolescents.
CDC shares with parents and many others great concern about the number of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We are committed to understanding what causes autism, how it can be prevented, and how it can be recognized and treated as early as possible.
Recent estimates from CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring network found that about 1 in 150 children have an ASD. This estimate is higher than estimates from the early 1990s.
Some people believe increased exposure to thimerosal (from the addition of important new vaccines recommended for children) explains the higher prevalence in recent years.
However, evidence from several studies examining trends in vaccine use and changes in autism frequency does not support such an association.
Furthermore, a scientific review by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that "the evidence favors rejection of a causal relationship between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism."
CDC supports the IOM conclusion.
CDC recognizes that autism is an urgent health concern and supports comprehensive research as our best hope for understanding the causes of autism and other developmental disorders. Through collaborations with partners in government, research centers, and the public, CDC is focusing on three areas—
1. Understanding the frequency and trends of autism spectrum disorders.
2. Advancing research in the search for causes and effective treatments.
3. Improving early detection and diagnosis so affected children are treated as soon as possible.
Centers for Disease Control Thimerosal
I said so some time ago...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/911036/posts
This disorder is generally accepted as a biological syndrome that affects both the gastrointestinal and central nervous systems. Children who are autistic can range from mild to severe cases, and the position of autism in developmental psychiatry parallels that of schizophrenia in validity and severity.
Almost all of the researchers in this field of study agree that genetic predisposition is crucial in the neurological foundation of autism. It has been shown that if one of a pair of identical twins is autistic, there is a 90 percent chance the other twin will be autistic. Furthermore, parents of one autistic child who’s risk is 1 in 500 of having an autistic child, rises to 1 in 20 with a second child. After two autistic children, this risk increases to 1 in 3. In addition, “the chances that the siblings of an autistic child will display one or more of the other developmental disorders with a known genetic basis – such as dyslexia or Tourette’s syndrome – are also significantly higher than normal.”
One most curious aspect is the dramatically higher incidence of this in Silicon Valley and the Route 128 area outside of Boston. Some high functioning people who work in these areas are considered “broad autistic phenotypes”. “One provocative hypothesis that might account for the rise of spectrum disorders in technically adept communities like Silicon Valley, some geneticists speculate, is an increase in assortative mating.”
This phenomena is not occurring in just the previously mentioned areas, but also in other places where a concentration of technically advanced people are having children, as well as an increase of reported rates all over the world. There is cause for alarm and an urgent need to mobilize research efforts.
The most detailed medical analysis of autism by far can be found in Topics in Clinical Chiropractic. The most detailed social analysis is in Wired magazine. The most instructive is Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism. There are other sources full of valuable information on the topic. Space prohibits their inclusion and discussion at this time.
Autism remains a puzzle. It is generally believed to be a genetic disorder related to a variant allele of HOXB1, a gene on chromosome 17, possibly regions on chromosome 15, chromosome 7 and chromosome 9. A remarkable and detailed report on the etiologies, brain mechanisms, and neuropsychological phenotypes can be found in Diagnosing Learning Disorders; A Neuropsychological Framework (which may be now outdated). This following description is a valuable bit of information from this 1991 book:
…Briefly, existing evidence supports the conclusion that autism is familial, heritable and genetically heterogeneous. Among the possible genetic subtypes are multifactorial inheritance, autosomal recessive inheritance, X-linked inheritance and nonfamilial chromosomal anomalies.
Here are some sources...
Silberman, Steve. “The Geek Syndrome.” Wired Dec 2001: 176.
Brian J Gleberzon and Anita L Rosenberg-Gleberzon. “On autism: Its prevalence, diagnosis, causes, and treatment.” Topics in Clinical Chiropractic. Dec 2001.
http://proquest.umi.compdqweb?TS=1019705267&RQT=309&CC=2&Dtp=1&Did>
Maurice, Catherine, ed. Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism. Austin: PRO-ED, 1996.
Rodier, Patricia M. “The Early origins of Autism.” Scientific American. Feb 2000: 56.
Bower, B. “Gene Implicated in Development of Autism.” Science News. Dec 16, 2000: 390.
Holden, Constance. “The Destiny of Autism?” Science Now. Dec 6, 2000: 3.
Pennington, Bruce F. Diagnosing Learning Disorders; A Neuropsychological Framework. New York: Guilford Press, 1991.
See #18...
I have researched this...
Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah...gubmint science. Here’s an expert!
Jenny McCarthy: If you look at the vaccine schedule, and you can go on www.generationrescue.com and that’s a really good website… the vaccines that you received in 1983 were ten. Today they’re thirty-six. Thirty-six vaccinations compared to ten back in the day. A lot of these kids seem to be born with a little bit of an auto-immune problem. Maybe they can’t really detox some of the toxins in the environment as easily. For instance, one of the things is glutathione. Glutathione is everyone’s bodies’ natural anti-oxidant that gets rid of toxins and viruses and stuff like that. We’ve noticed that a lot of these kids have low glutathione. So we say, “God, if these kids are born with low glutathione, a lower immune system, then how are they supposed to now take thirty-six vaccines when we never had that before?” So it’s real easy when you look at that list of what it was like, and what it’s like now, to go, “Ah! I see the escalation of vaccines and I see the escalation of autism,” and that’s how we got there.
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