I’ve kind of steered clear of the whole Vaccine Court issue that has arisen in the last few weeks. I really don’t enjoy getting political and the whole thing just makes me sick to my stomach. But I just can’t let this slid. As I’m sure most of you know the US Vaccine Court awarded the family of Hannah Poling compensation for a vaccine injury which aggravated a pre-existing underlying mitochondrial disorder which in turn resulted in her developing Autism. I.E. the Vaccine caused her Autism.
But recently that same Vaccine Court found that vaccines did not cause Autism in three other children. This news was spread wide and far by the CDC, FDA and many newspapers claiming it proves that Vaccines do not cause Autism.
BUT….(if you are even a somewhat frequent reader of my blog you know I love the word *But*. It carries with it so many endless possibilities, and in this case the possibility is great, profound, and vast)
But, those same news-mongers some how neglected to tell you about a young boy named Bailey Banks. You see, that same Vaccine Court, the one that proved Vaccines don’t cause Autism, recently awarded Bailey Banks’ family compensation because “In his conclusion, Special Master Abell ruled that Petitioners had proven that the MMR had directly caused a brain inflammation illness called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) which, in turn, had caused the autism spectrum disorder PDD-NOS in the child”
So Bailey’s autism was directly caused by the MMR vaccine! Did you read what I read? That Special Master Abell said that a vaccine had caused a case of Autism. Wow, that makes two cases of Autism directly linked to a vaccine, yet there is NO PROOF THAT VACCINES CAUSE AUTISM? Really? Apparently Special Master Abell doesn’t agree with that statement. And these two cases, both resulting in Autism, did not take the same exact path. Hannah had a mitochondrial disorder which was aggravated by vaccines while Bailey suffered from vaccine induced brain inflammation which caused his version of Autism. So I’m just taking a leap here, but maybe, just maybe, other kids are getting Autism from one or the other of these issues. And more importantly maybe there are other reactions to the vaccines that have yet to be identified but which also cause autism! Wow, profound thought, no? (yes, I do drip with sarcasm, don’t I? I prefer to refer to it as my acerbic wit, it sounds more polite, don’t you think?)
Anyway, there are now two cases which the Vaccine Court admits that a vaccine has directly caused a child’s Autism. But it is not all sweets and roses for Autism families and the VC. “Jury trials are prohibited. Damages are capped; awards for pain and suffering are strictly limited and punitive damages banned altogether.” Can you believe this is how the US government handles Vaccine Court? No jury trials. Why? Afraid that the public would do the right thing? Or afraid that the public would find out the truth?
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. wrote a wonderful piece on this very topic and I’d love for you to read all about it. Please take a few minutes to read the following article (link below), then arm yourself with knowledge and love. Let’s all save our children together.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20090225/cm_huffpost/169673
