Maybe They’d Better Talk To The Mythbusters
From the LA Times.com
Pediatricians say new TV show perpetuates autism myth - Los Angeles Times:
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.
I have a child with a mild form of Autism (Aspberger’s Syndrome) so when something like this gets on, it makes my blood boil. Vaccines DO NOT CAUSE AUTISM! It is strictly genetic and anyone who fails to get their child vaccinated can home school them. Keep them away from my little girl. Yes, we know that this is “just a TV show” but I am around people every day who have critical thinking skills as sharp as a beach ball. What other conclusions are these kind of people going to draw?
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.
The only “debate” is from religious or anti-science whackos who think that vaccines actually cause autism. Next thing you know, we’ll have TV shows advocating chelation therapy (pronounced “key-lay-shun;” a risky therapy designed to purge toxins from the body, mostly used for lead poisoning) because that is supposed to “cure” the autism induced by the vaccinations. OK, rant over.
Technorati Tags: bad science, autism, urban myths
I agree totally. Your anger in this situation is understood completely.