RESPOND - WSJ - Politics in Autism

[Guest guest]

Politics of Autism

EDITORIAL:

See editorial below

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110004487

(Free Registration Required)

Another editorial was published in the Wall Street Journal entitled " The

Politics of Autism. " The WSJ has already posted an opinion about this with

their previous editorial " Where's My Flu Shot? " , why another one? I think

that's exactly what we need to know. Please fax or email the WSJ and send a

copy of your letter for us to post in our Grassroots Center. See a step by

step rebuttal/response below.

http://www.nationalautismassociation.org/grassroots.php.

It only takes 5 minutes to make a difference!

CONTACT INFO:

Letter to the Editor

EMAIL ADDRESS:

wsj.ltrs@...

FAX NUMBER:

212-416-2255

Here's a step by step rebuttal/response that may be helpful when writing to

the Wall Street Journal:

Points to make in any response to the WSJ editorial:

1. General points: Parents just want good and honest science; that is their

" passion " in the interest of their children and all children. It is ironic

they called their editorial " the politics of autism " when their approach is

solely political. WSJ Journal has a political and industry profit promoting

agenda-- It is the Wall Street Journal that is politicizing this issue by:

a. repeatedly editorializing on it from one perspective without reporting

the facts in a balanced way

b. failing to rely on the science as the critical issue, but instead

blasting trial lawyers and misguided parents

c. the WSJ transparent agenda is to boost pharma profits--their cover is

the supposed shortage of vaccines--this has been exposed to be a ruse

because the flu vaccine shortage has nothing to do with thimerosal claims;

this is also illustrated by the recent Prevnar shortage that resulted from

industry problems wholly unrelated to liability or lawsuits; How exactly

does " attention to " that affliction " [autism] result in " unintended and

dangerous consequence of limiting vaccines for all children. "

2. Responsive points:

a. " Thimerosal never credibly linked to health problems "

Rebuttal: WSJ ignores thousands of articles in the scientific

literature--there are no studies showing the safety of thimerosal

b. " spat " " frightens parents " and discourages vaccination

Rebuttal: there is no evidence showing that vaccination rates have

decreased--the critics of thimerosal are not opposed to vaccination--Is the

WSJ opposed to safety in vaccines? WSJ later says that thimerosal has been

removed- so then how does the claim regarding thimerosal discourage

vaccination with thimerosal free vaccines.

c. " lawyers are exploiting loopholes " in vaccine law

Rebuttal: the only " loophole " being exploited is the civil rights of

children to seek damages for injuries caused by large corporations

d. " Senators haven't yet honored their side of the deal " to air the issues.

Rebuttal: let's have a full and fair debate rather than ramming through

giveaways in the dead of night

3. Science: WSJ claims to rely on science that is " trumped " by lawyers, but

it distorts the science.

a. " study after study has shown there is simply no such link " :

Rebuttal: generally discredit the studies cited (some points listed

below--others well laid out in critiques on Safe Minds website) in the

editorial and to criticize the WSJ for failing to mention studies that do

support a link (they conveniently left those out, e.g. Geier's studies, and

many that show neurotoxicity of mercury)

b. WSJ cites Pichichero " University of Rochester " study;

(1) Claims it compared the blood mercury levels of infants who received

vaccines with and without thimerosal-- simply not accurate

Rebuttal: A. mercury cannot be measured by blood level; B. study sample

tiny-40 some odd children; C. did not account for where the mercury went

after it disappeared from the blood so rapidly; D. did not measure blood

level early enough and did not prove it was excreted--takes a lot longer

than the study protocol waited to excrete mercury by biliary transport,

which is the way mercury is excreted

(2) WSJ relies on Baumann & study in Pediatrics:

Rebuttal: This was not new science but a review article only, see Mark

Blaxill's rebuttal to this --one major problem is that this article

examined the features of so called Classic autism

(3) Reliance on Denmark thimerosal studies; Madsen (Pediatrics) and Hviid

(NEJM) study:

Rebuttal: SafeMinds has pretty much responded to this and their points

should be utilized (e.g. data disappearance or manipulation; conflicts of

interest; rates in Denmark lower even now; vaccine administration different

and fewer number of vaccines in Denmark than in U.S. thus not comparable

plus other points;

c. Rise in Autism-WSJ ignores epidemiological studies

(1) " MR goes down as autism rates go up " argument-- Disability substitution

argument:

Rebuttal: What studies show that mental retardation declines as autism

increases? An article by Mark Blaxill, Walter Spitzer, and Baskin,

published in JADD, clearly refuted this theory, so much so that Croen

herself conceded in a response letter to Mark's paper.

(2) " Keener parents seeking services "

Rebuttal: Similarly the MIND study said parents seeking a diagnosis to get

access to treatment was not a reason for the increase--there is no

scientific support for this WSJ allegation

d. WSJ says " Research is beginning to reveal autism's causes and signs "

(1) " Genetic Link "

-- " Studies have found that if one identical twin has autism the other has a

very high chance of having severe social impairment "

Rebuttal: how does WSJ Journal explain the fact that there is discordance

in rates of twins with autism--this strongly suggests there is a strong

environmental component and that genetics is not the " cause "

-- " Scientists are already focusing on a handful of genes that may play a role "

Rebuttal: WSJ is overly simplistic and misleading in their speculatory

assertion about genetic science--scientists have claimed for years that

they have found an autism gene--they have " isolated " it to 5, 10, or 20

genes and the research is usually not verified or replicated. There is no

dispute that genetics play a role--life is genetic--this has more to do

with susceptibility rather than cause.

(2) " Head size study "

--WSJ says small head size at birth plus a growth spurt prior to one year

is a warning size of autism

Rebuttal: Even Courchesne, the lead author of this study was quoted in the

LA Times that this theory is not incompatible with an environmental trigger

to autism

4. WSJ Journal says that parents, SafeMinds and Dan Burton are seeking

scapegoats:

Rebuttal: --We parents just want honest answers, honest and complete

scientific inquiry and, in the absence of studies showing that it is safe,

complete removal of thimerosal from all vaccines. This is the responsible

position rather that the industry protectionism advocated by the WSJ.

5. WSJ says " vaccine makers stopped using thimerosal a few years ago "

Rebuttal: Still in flu, tetanus, and still on the shelves even now. 2003

PDR still lists it as an ingredient in childhood vaccines.

6. WSJ says " Passion shouldn't be allowed to trump undeniable evidence and

damage childhood immunizations "

Rebuttal: there is no evidence of thimerosal safety; the only damage to

childhood immunizations is being done by the vaccine makers and the

regulators who are acting irresponsibly in failing to properly test vaccine

safety, and by failing to remove a known neurotoxin from injectable vaccines.

7. Frist bill -- WSJ wants open debate on vaccine issue so that sufficient

vaccines can be manufactured

Rebuttal: Parents favor legislation that protects the health of children

and their civil rights. We reject legislation that allows unsafe vaccines

to be manufactured at the risk of the health of our children.

Sample Letter:

Regarding your December 29th article entitled, " The Politics of Autism, "

the author (whoever they are) fails to establish themselves as either an

expert of autism, parent of an autistic child, politician, or freelance

copywriter hired by a public relations firm on behalf of big-money drug

companies. I'm also wondering why this so-called " opinion " is being

published by WSJ again when a similar opinion was published two weeks ago?

To this writer, I am only going to make a few points (actual facts)...

First, I am a parent of an autistic child---and, yes, he was permanently

damaged by ethylmercury thimerosal, a compound used in vaccines and

pregnancy shots (as a sterilizing agent more than a preservative.)

Second, the NVICP doesn't work---it's a broken program. Don't believe me?

Ask a group of parents who have been through it. I personally wish to

litigate for the discovery phase, not the " money, " which seems to be

brought up only by the Bill Frist's of the world (Bill, refer to my

advertisements addressed to you in the Congress Daily issues last

April---found another word for " frivolous " yet?) Anyone who says we're all

in this for monetary gain is just plain ignorant.

Third, we've continued to ask for hearings---we've asked for a White House

Conference, we've all but invited the CDC over to our house to compare

notes. Has anyone ever agreed to any of these things? No. Maybe because the

actual unmanipulated science that rightfully fingers the rise in thimerosal

as the logical cause of the rise in autism would have to be publicly

acknowledged. People like Dr. Vaerstraten who once wrote an e-mail

to his colleagues (recovered by the Freedom of Information Act) entitled

" It just won't go away, " would actually have to contend with the fact that

the connection won't go away because the connection is real.

Last few points: the Denmark study...severely flawed. The CDC study...the

first one suggested a connection and was never published...this last

(manipulated) one suggested no connection and almost had neon lights

attached to it. My child has never had an abnormal head circumference (come

to think of it, I haven't met anyone whose autistic child had this). The

vaccine supply has nothing to do with any of this. Finally, Senators

, Chaffe, and Snowe (along with Dan Burton) stood up for our

children's rights. Senator Frist tried to sell them.

Anytime the other side wants to meet to debate the science, we're all

waiting...

Lori McIlwain

Not hired by a PR firm

EDITORIAL:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110004487

(Free Registration Required)

REVIEW & OUTLOOK

The Politics of Autism

Lawsuits and emotion vs. science and childhood vaccines.

Monday, December 29, 2003 12:01 a.m.

For any parent, there are few more traumatic diagnoses than that a child

suffers from autism. But the increasing political attention to that

affliction is having the unintended and dangerous consequence of limiting

vaccines for all children. This is a story of politics and lawyers trumping

science and medicine. It concerns thimerosal, a preservative that was used

in vaccines for 60 years and has never been credibly linked to any health

problems. Nonetheless, a small but vocal group of parents have taken to

claiming that thimerosal causes autism, a brain disorder that impairs

normal social interaction. The result has been an ugly legal and political

spat that has spilled into Congress and is frightening some parents from

vaccinating their children against such deadly diseases as tetanus and

whooping cough.

Like night follows day, the dispute has also brought in the trial lawyers.

Vaccine makers are supposed to be protected from lawsuits by 1986

legislation, but the lawyers are exploiting loopholes to file

billion-dollar suits that threaten to punish the few companies that still

make vaccines.

Congress tried to fix this by including a liability provision in homeland

security legislation a year ago. But three Northeast Republican

Senators--Olympia Snowe, and Lincoln Chafee--demanded it be

taken out until Congress could have a full airing of the thimerosal-autism

issue. The Senators haven't yet honored their side of that deal.

Perhaps that's because if they did their position would be exposed as

scientifically untenable. The claim is that thimerosal, an organic mercury

compound, can cause neurodevelopmental disorders. But study after study has

shown that there is simply no such link.

A 2002 University of Rochester study compared the blood mercury levels of

infants who'd received vaccines with and without thimerosal. All had levels

well below the super-cautious EPA safety standard. This was followed last

March by a study published in Pediatrics magazine, in which researchers

compared the physical manifestations of autism and mercury poisoning. They

found that the symptoms weren't the same, nor were the brain tissues similar.

Perhaps the best evidence comes from Denmark, one of those European nations

that likes to monitor most everything about its citizens. Researchers

recently examined the health records of all children born in Denmark from

1971 to 2000 for autism diagnoses. Though Denmark eliminated thimerosal

from its vaccines in 1992, the researchers found that the incidence of

autism continued to increase. A second research team reviewed the records

of nearly 500,000 Danes vaccinated for pertussis. They also found that the

risk of autism and related disorders didn't differ between those vaccinated

with thimerosal and those without.

None of this is to deny that the incidence of autism may be rising, though

there is a dispute about why. The definition of the disease has broadened

in recent years, encompassing even mild learning disabilities, and doctors

have become better at diagnosing it. Some statistics show that as autism

diagnoses rise, those for mental retardation fall--suggesting children were

previously misdiagnosed. Parents are also more keen to have a proper

diagnosis, because many schools now offer more extensive educational

services for autism than they do for other disorders. The good news is that

research is beginning to reveal autism's causes and signs, in particular

evidence of a genetic link. Studies have found that if one identical twin

has autism the other has a very high chance of having severe social

impairment. Scientists are already focusing on a handful of genes that may

play a role.

In a important study this year, researchers found that a small head

circumference at birth, followed by a sudden growth spurt of the head

before the end of the first year, is a reliable early warning sign. (Brain

growth that early can't be triggered by vaccines.)

Autism is a terrible disease and it's understandable that some parents

would want to look for scapegoats. One lobby group, Safe Minds, has been

especially active in blaming vaccines and has found a powerful ally in

Indiana Republican Dan Burton, who runs the House Wellness and Human Rights

Subcommittee. His family has had its own painful experience with autism.

But their understandable passion shouldn't be allowed to trump undeniable

evidence and damage childhood immunizations that are essential to public

health. Vaccine makers stopped using thimerosal a few years ago, but the

autism lawsuits threaten those companies with enough damage that their

ability to supply vaccines is in jeopardy.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has a proposal to offer liability

protection against thimerosal claims and modernize the federal Vaccine

Injury Compensation Program--which pays out to the rare family whose child

is truly harmed by a vaccine. Congress could both redeem itself and improve

public health by making this bill a priority when it reconvenes in January.

Thanks everyone!

The NAA Team

National Autism Association

Phone: 877-NAA-AUTISM

Email: NAA@...

http://nationalautismassociation.org/

--------------------------------------------------------

Sheri Nakken, R.N., MA, Classical Homeopath

Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Nevada City CA & Wales UK

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DECISION TO VACCINATE IS YOURS AND YOURS ALONE.

******

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Doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy

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and religions destroy spirituality " .... Ellner