Thimerosal Is Not a Primary Cause of Autism and Neither Is Mercuritol (Except, Maybe, on ABC)
January 23, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Cause, Movies, Vaccines
ABC is airing a new legal drama, Eli Stone, on January 31st. Lawyer Eli Stone (according to the January 23rd New York Times is 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.”
Pharmeceutical company…….vaccines…….
Yes, in the first episode of Eli Stone the former Pharma now “fights for the underdog” lawyer sues his old client on behalf of a mother who believes that, yes, her son became autistic from a vaccine containing the mercury-based preservative thimerasol, which is instead referred to as “mercuritol.” Here’s the script for the first episode:
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.)
Since mercuritol is a made-up substance, I think I can say, with incontrovertible proof, that mercuritol does not cause autism. (Neither does thimerasol, while we’re at it, though I’m sure some are going to be issuing dire warnings about the mercury levels in tuna sushi.) But since we know that proponents of the hypothesis that something in vaccines causes autism or that autism is mercury poisoning are prone to conspiratorial imaginings, who knows what new hypothesis about the causes of autism we’ll soon be reading after January 31st.
But maybe now people will see why we don’t need to make a movie of Evidence of Harm.
Jeff Stimpson
Jill Cornfield
@Regina,
This conversation is about the fact that thimerosal is not a primary cause of autism and continued focus on vaccinations dilutes energy away from the issues that most need to be discussed in regard to autism.
Regina, are you offering to fund the studies? I asked the tooth fairy and she doesn’t have the cash.
Well for those of you spouting incorrect information on the connection between autism and the vaccinations…. as of 2/26/08 the first lawsuit was WON confirming the connection! ah ha! I say that as a mom who saw the change in her son between 12-18 months I was never sure if it was the shots or not but I am sure the problems my son had at 18 months were not there at 9 months. If you care to google it was handled through the States court of federal claims office. I personally don’t agree with suing. I think the government should step up and at the very least give the schools the knowledge they need to properly teach our children who have been affected. Oh and quit putting the preservative in the shots! Do you know most of the flu shots you have contain this? It is matablized in your body as mercury ethonal a nero toxin. A good amount of people are not affected but I think they are looking into the link of higher testoserone levels making it harder for your body to release it. That would make sense why autism is higher in boys than girls. Just a bit of acurate information for you.
I have written about the government’s concession in the case you mention here; note the care with which David Kirby takes to explain the child’s diagnosis.
Anna,
I strongly advise you to read the facts o this case, for yourself. You’ll find this child has mitochondrial disease, not Autism. This case does nothing for you, & others, who feel vaccines caused autism. It’s been promoted much differently & inaccurately by Kirby & others.
Mitochondrial disorders aren’t all or even most autism, Anna, are genetic, and get worse in response to random stressors which may or may not be apparent (illness, diet, emotional, growth…). Note that the case is NOT included in the Omnibus anymore.
http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2008/02/more-on-vaccineautism-case-that.html I have looked into the disorder and just from some support groups from parents of autism I notice most of our children have the problems with muscle tone digestion ect and there is a link between the mitrochondrial and autism. What do you feel about that? Perhaps I read it wrong but this case said that because of the underlying Mitronchondrial desease that it agrivated Autism spectrum disorder? Am I missing something here? Are you saying that in court it was just allowed for him to misrepresent the illness?? I am not saying that all autism is caused by the shots don’t get me wrong. However if it is some enviromental cause or heaven forbid a medicine we are giving our children we have an obligation to find the cause. Of course with my son I am most interested in having him at a good school that understands him (that one is a battle) and a doctor that understands his special needs. That is also a battle I have found one doctor in my area (colorado) that understands an autistic body and well he should retire before I can get through his waiting list. However with the rate going up there has to be something we are doing that is causing this.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/government-concedes-vacci_b_88323.html
you might be interested in this article. I think it fairly represents both sides of the coin as well as raises many good questions.
I’ve read it, most of us here have. Mr. Kirby, as Dr. Chew points out, dodges a key part of this case: the child’s diagnosis!!!! Unless your child indeed has mitochondrial disease (inherited from you–that is the ONLY way one ‘gets’ mito), then there is no significance to you and zero admittance that vaccines cause autism.
If you’re interested in the other side of the coin, please read what Kristina’s posted on this & what I’ve written on this case–I speak from first-hand experience with the diagnoses involved in this case.
I think you are missing the point S.L. I don’t think vaccines by themselves create autism and I don’t think most other people do either so your argument is bunk. My position and the position of thousands of other moms and is that vaccines and can exacerbate exisiting problems and immune definciencies…opening the door for autism and other issues. If there is even the slighest chance that a vaccine can exacerbate and existing problem and cause autism or any other number of problems then we need to reformulate them, change the schedules, and do testing on children before we ASSSUME their body can handle the assault. Is that too much to ask? I don’t think so. I think it is sad that so many parents push the herd mentality on us while we are just exercising some good judgement and not blindly following Merck around like sheeple.
The child’s diagnosis shows that he or she was not a viable candidate for vaccination and this could have and should have been established before a vaccination occurred….period! I am willing to bet MANY children are not good candidates for vaccination but we don’t like to talk about that do we.
It’s interesting and unfortunate that a scientific issue is being seen as “decided” because of a courtroom verdict—-the scientific evidence continues to show that there is no link between autism and vaccines or something in vaccines. I have commented on David Kirby’s recent post here—-Kirby is presuming that one verdict for one child is suggestive of a cause for autism.
FYI…vaccines ARE recommended for children with mito!!!! Some are advised to avoid a shot, ONLY if a history of bad reactions exists (which holds true for the general population). My friends whose children have mito ALL vaccinate their children and are mortified by people who opt to not give shots to their kids because of quack science (vaccines=autism). Those un-vaccinated children put my child and my friend’s children at risk for contracting serious diseases. Diseases that most certainly would land a child with mito in the ICU & possibly kill them.
Go here: http://www.umdf.org/site/c.dnJEKLNqFoG/b.3616911/apps/s/content.asp?ct=4211851 and read. I will also add, it is HIGHLY unlikely that a child with autism has mito, especially if that child has never been hospitalized, doesn’t have severe health issues, eats on their own, there is no muscle-wasting, vision impairment, heart defects, etc. Read more about mito at umdf.org & see how autism doesn’t equal mito, and how this case has nada to do with what Kirby is fighting for!
Kristina, it is only non-scientists who think this court case has anything to do with what causes autism.
Kirby is spouting nonsense as he always does because he doesn’t understand science. How people can listen to the nonsense that he spouts off on and take it seriously is something that I do not understand.
This case had nothing to do with autism, or with vaccines causing autism.
“Those un-vaccinated children put my child and my friend’s children at risk for contracting serious diseases. Diseases that most certainly would land a child with mito in the ICU & possibly kill them.”
S.L.
Thank you for pointing that out, and for your other comments on mitochondrial disease. I considered that it might be an ironic and most unfortunate consequence if Mr. Kirby’s essay in fact jeopardizes the group of children that he is using as rhetorical pawns.
It’s really quite appalling that Kirby is using mito in his “crusade”. He could kill people with mito. Besides which, there are tests (blood and muscle) which a) make a distinction and b) will really suck for children who have absolutely zero symptoms. I’m sure, though, that badgering someone into a painful muscle biopsy will become the next big thing, if not just shoving the amino acid cocktail into autistic kids…
*sighs* it’s a LOT of pills.