Watch Eli Stone on ABC - ASD & Vaccine storyline

[Guest guest]

NYTimes: ABC Drama Takes on Science and Parents

LOS ANGELES - A new legal drama making its debut this month on ABC is

stepping into a subject that is the source of heated debate among

some parents - the relationship between autism and childhood vaccines

- and seemingly coming down on the side that has been all but

dismissed by prominent scientific organizations.

The drama, " Eli Stone, " scheduled to be broadcast at 10 p.m. on Jan.

31, centers on a lawyer who begins having visions that cause him to

question his life's work defending large corporations, including a

pharmaceutical company that makes vaccines.

The title character of " Eli Stone, " adopting the message of his

visions to fight for the little guy, takes his first case: suing his

former client on behalf of the mother of an autistic child who

believes a mercury- based preservative in a vaccine caused her son's

autism.

For the last decade some parents and advocates for autistic children

have championed the theory that a mercury-based vaccine preservative

called thimerosal, developed in the late 1920s and used in many

childhood vaccines until about seven years ago, is a primary cause of

autism in young children.

Autism often is diagnosed in children between their first and fourth

years, during the time that many children begin receiving regular

rounds of vaccinations.

But reams of scientific studies by the leading American health

authorities have failed to establish a causal link between the

preservative and autism. Since the preservative was largely removed

from childhood vaccines in 2001, autism rates have not declined.

While police and legal dramas often use ripped-from- the-headlines

topics as the basis of episodes, rarely do broadcast networks allow

themselves to stray into the middle of heated debates that contain

such emotional touchstones for large segments of their audience, if

only because another big segment of a network's audience is likely to

be on the other side of the debate.

With " Eli Stone, " however, neither ABC nor its ABC Studios production

unit has expressed any qualms about the story, according to Greg

Berlanti, a co- creator and an executive producer of the series, who

said he believed that the script showed both sides of the argument.

" I think they wanted us to do our homework about all of it, which we

did, " he said.

But the script also takes several liberties that could leave viewers

believing that the debate over thimerosal - which in the program's

script is given the fictional name mercuritol - is far from

scientifically settled.

Through a spokeswoman, ABC declined to offer an executive to discuss

the show.

The issue is a potentially delicate one for ABC. Eli Lilly & Company,

which developed thimerosal, and the two companies that now make the

bulk of childhood vaccines used in the United States, GlaxoKline

and Sanofi-Aventis, spent an estimated $138 million for advertising

on ABC last year, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus, though little to

none of it was spent advertising vaccines.

Representatives of all three companies expressed dismay about the

series, of which they said they were unaware until called by a reporter.

Pekarek, a spokeswoman for GlaxoKline, said the episode

raised public-health concerns. " If parents watching this fictional

series make that incorrect conclusion about a link " between vaccines

and autism " and as a result choose not to vaccinate their own

children, the consequences could be devastating, " she said.

Doctors have previously expressed fears that the popularity of the

antivaccine movement could have adverse effects. In Britain a widely

publicized - and since discredited - research paper published in 1998

started a scare over the safety of the vaccine for measles, mumps and

rubella, drawing a potential link to autism. Though the premise of

the research did not concern thimerosal, vaccination rates plunged in

Britain. Over the next two to six years, outbreaks of measles soared

in Britain and Ireland, causing at least three deaths and hundreds of

children to be hospitalized.

Among the organizations that have studied possible links between

autism and the preservative in vaccines are the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the

Institute of Medicine, the World Health Organization and the American

Academy of Pediatrics. Each of them has largely dismissed the idea

that thimerosal causes or contributes to autism, and five major

studies have found no link.

Since 2001, no vaccine routinely administered to children in the

United States had more than half a microgram of mercury, about the

amount found in an infant's daily supply of breast milk.

But plenty of parents, as well as groups like SafeMinds, continue to

say that a link exists. " We feel it is still an open question, " said

Theresa Wrangham, president of SafeMinds, a nonprofit parent

organization. Their position has been supported in recent years by

some members of Congress and by public advocates including F.

Kennedy Jr.

The initial episode of " Eli Stone " posits that the child received a

flu vaccine containing the preservative; in recent years vaccine

makers have produced new versions of the flu vaccine for children

that do not contain the mercury-based preservative.

" Is there proof that mercuritol causes autism?, " Eli Stone says to

the jury in summing up his lawsuit against the vaccine maker. " Yes, "

he says. " Is that proof direct or incontrovertible proof? No. But ask

yourself if you've ever believed in anything or anyone without

absolute proof. "

The script also draws a parallel with research linking smoking and

cancer, saying three decades passed between the first lawsuit

charging a connection and the first jury award against a tobacco

company. After the dramatic courtroom revelation that the chief

executive of the vaccine maker did not allow his daughter's

pediatrician to give her the company's vaccine, the jury in " Eli

Stone " awards the mother $5.2 million. (In each episode Eli Stone

takes on a different cause; in other episodes sent to television

reviewers for preview, he wages court battles against a pesticide

maker and a priest.)

In the last two years Mr. Berlanti, who created " Eli Stone " with Marc

Guggenheim, has become a major contributor to ABC's primetime lineup.

He also is an executive producer of " Brother & Sisters " and " Dirty

Sexy Money. " Mr. Guggenheim is a lawyer who has worked on several law-

related series, including " The Practice " and " Law & Order. "

In interviews both men said they did not have any personal ties to

the subject of autism and childhood vaccines. Mr. Guggenheim, who has

two young children, said he had questioned his pediatrician about the

number of vaccines his children were receiving. " I haven't vaccinated

them as aggressively as I could, " he said.

Both of the producers also said that they wanted " Eli Stone " to

provoke conversation.

" A lot of TV these days is not talking about the same things that the

nightly news is talking about, " Mr. Berlanti said. " As a show, we

want to keep the conversation going after people turn off the

television. "

[Guest guest]

go to ageofautism.com and see what is transpiring with ABC being

threatened to not air the episode or offer a disclaimer.

>

> NYTimes: ABC Drama Takes on Science and Parents

>

>

> LOS ANGELES - A new legal drama making its debut this month on ABC

is

> stepping into a subject that is the source of heated debate among

> some parents - the relationship between autism and childhood

vaccines

> - and seemingly coming down on the side that has been all but

> dismissed by prominent scientific organizations.

>

> The drama, " Eli Stone, " scheduled to be broadcast at 10 p.m. on

Jan.

> 31, centers on a lawyer who begins having visions that cause him

to

> question his life's work defending large corporations, including a

> pharmaceutical company that makes vaccines.

>

> The title character of " Eli Stone, " adopting the message of his

> visions to fight for the little guy, takes his first case: suing

his

> former client on behalf of the mother of an autistic child who

> believes a mercury- based preservative in a vaccine caused her

son's

> autism.

>

> For the last decade some parents and advocates for autistic

children

> have championed the theory that a mercury-based vaccine

preservative

> called thimerosal, developed in the late 1920s and used in many

> childhood vaccines until about seven years ago, is a primary cause

of

> autism in young children.

>

> Autism often is diagnosed in children between their first and

fourth

> years, during the time that many children begin receiving regular

> rounds of vaccinations.

>

> But reams of scientific studies by the leading American health

> authorities have failed to establish a causal link between the

> preservative and autism. Since the preservative was largely

removed

> from childhood vaccines in 2001, autism rates have not declined.

>

> While police and legal dramas often use ripped-from- the-headlines

> topics as the basis of episodes, rarely do broadcast networks

allow

> themselves to stray into the middle of heated debates that contain

> such emotional touchstones for large segments of their audience,

if

> only because another big segment of a network's audience is likely

to

> be on the other side of the debate.

>

> With " Eli Stone, " however, neither ABC nor its ABC Studios

production

> unit has expressed any qualms about the story, according to Greg

> Berlanti, a co- creator and an executive producer of the series,

who

> said he believed that the script showed both sides of the

argument.

> " I think they wanted us to do our homework about all of it, which

we

> did, " he said.

>

> But the script also takes several liberties that could leave

viewers

> believing that the debate over thimerosal - which in the program's

> script is given the fictional name mercuritol - is far from

> scientifically settled.

>

> Through a spokeswoman, ABC declined to offer an executive to

discuss

> the show.

>

> The issue is a potentially delicate one for ABC. Eli Lilly &

Company,

> which developed thimerosal, and the two companies that now make

the

> bulk of childhood vaccines used in the United States,

GlaxoKline

> and Sanofi-Aventis, spent an estimated $138 million for

advertising

> on ABC last year, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus, though little

to

> none of it was spent advertising vaccines.

>

> Representatives of all three companies expressed dismay about the

> series, of which they said they were unaware until called by a

reporter.

>

> Pekarek, a spokeswoman for GlaxoKline, said the episode

> raised public-health concerns. " If parents watching this fictional

> series make that incorrect conclusion about a link " between

vaccines

> and autism " and as a result choose not to vaccinate their own

> children, the consequences could be devastating, " she said.

>

> Doctors have previously expressed fears that the popularity of the

> antivaccine movement could have adverse effects. In Britain a

widely

> publicized - and since discredited - research paper published in

1998

> started a scare over the safety of the vaccine for measles, mumps

and

> rubella, drawing a potential link to autism. Though the premise of

> the research did not concern thimerosal, vaccination rates plunged

in

> Britain. Over the next two to six years, outbreaks of measles

soared

> in Britain and Ireland, causing at least three deaths and hundreds

of

> children to be hospitalized.

>

> Among the organizations that have studied possible links between

> autism and the preservative in vaccines are the Centers for

Disease

> Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the

> Institute of Medicine, the World Health Organization and the

American

> Academy of Pediatrics. Each of them has largely dismissed the idea

> that thimerosal causes or contributes to autism, and five major

> studies have found no link.

>

> Since 2001, no vaccine routinely administered to children in the

> United States had more than half a microgram of mercury, about the

> amount found in an infant's daily supply of breast milk.

>

> But plenty of parents, as well as groups like SafeMinds, continue

to

> say that a link exists. " We feel it is still an open question, "

said

> Theresa Wrangham, president of SafeMinds, a nonprofit parent

> organization. Their position has been supported in recent years by

> some members of Congress and by public advocates including

F.

> Kennedy Jr.

>

> The initial episode of " Eli Stone " posits that the child received

a

> flu vaccine containing the preservative; in recent years vaccine

> makers have produced new versions of the flu vaccine for children

> that do not contain the mercury-based preservative.

>

> " Is there proof that mercuritol causes autism?, " Eli Stone says to

> the jury in summing up his lawsuit against the vaccine

maker. " Yes, "

> he says. " Is that proof direct or incontrovertible proof? No. But

ask

> yourself if you've ever believed in anything or anyone without

> absolute proof. "

>

> The script also draws a parallel with research linking smoking and

> cancer, saying three decades passed between the first lawsuit

> charging a connection and the first jury award against a tobacco

> company. After the dramatic courtroom revelation that the chief

> executive of the vaccine maker did not allow his daughter's

> pediatrician to give her the company's vaccine, the jury in " Eli

> Stone " awards the mother $5.2 million. (In each episode Eli Stone

> takes on a different cause; in other episodes sent to television

> reviewers for preview, he wages court battles against a pesticide

> maker and a priest.)

>

> In the last two years Mr. Berlanti, who created " Eli Stone " with

Marc

> Guggenheim, has become a major contributor to ABC's primetime

lineup.

> He also is an executive producer of " Brother & Sisters " and " Dirty

> Sexy Money. " Mr. Guggenheim is a lawyer who has worked on several

law-

> related series, including " The Practice " and " Law & Order. "

>

> In interviews both men said they did not have any personal ties to

> the subject of autism and childhood vaccines. Mr. Guggenheim, who

has

> two young children, said he had questioned his pediatrician about

the

> number of vaccines his children were receiving. " I haven't

vaccinated

> them as aggressively as I could, " he said.

>

> Both of the producers also said that they wanted " Eli Stone " to

> provoke conversation.

>

> " A lot of TV these days is not talking about the same things that

the

> nightly news is talking about, " Mr. Berlanti said. " As a show, we

> want to keep the conversation going after people turn off the

> television. "

>

>

>

>

>

>