Court rules vaccines not to blame..

[The Mistrezz]

.. for autism

A special vaccine court ruled against parents with autistic children Thursday, saying that vaccines are not to blame for their children's neurological disorder.

The judges in the cases said the evidence was overwhelmingly contrary to the parent's claims — and backed years of science that found no risk.

"It was abundantly clear that petitioners' theories of causation were speculative and unpersuasive," the court concluded in one of a trio of cases ruled on Thursday.
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The ruling, which was anxiously awaited by health authorities, was a blow to families who have filed more than 5,000 claims with the U.S. Court of Claims alleging that vaccines caused autism and other neurological problems in their children.

To win, they had to show that it was more likely than not that the autism symptoms were directly related to the measles-mumps-rubella shots they received.

But the court concluded that "the weight of scientific research and authority" was "simply more persuasive on nearly every point in contention."

The court still has to rule on separate claims from other families who contend that rather than a single vaccine, the culprit could be a mercury-containing preservative called thimerosal that once was common in children's inoculations. But in Thursday's rulings, the court may have sent a signal on those cases, too.

"The petitioners have failed to demonstrate that thimerosal-containing vaccines can contribute to causing immune dysfunction," a judge wrote about one theory that the families proposed to explain how autism might be linked

[*Realized*]

I have to say I agree with the courts on this one.

[sweetvanity]

i agree (after reading research, listening to lectures, etc.. over the years) that the vaccines are probably not to blame, nor are the preservatives (sorry mr. kennedy), but no one can ignore the fact that autism has skyrocketed 500% or something like that (i don't remember the number exactly) in the past 25 yrs or so... granted some of that is probably due to our advances in detection and classification of children with autism.

i'm interested to hear Tillian's perspective b/c she works with special needs children

[Donna]

Originally Posted by Mommy2Bailey I have to say I agree with the courts on this one.

[Sophie*]

I feel for the parents but I agree with the ruling.

[pennylayne]

I agree. there were cases of autism before there were vaccines, and though it may seem like the rate is skyrocketing, keep in mind our world is currently experiencing a huge huge popluation boom, thus more babies, more chances of autism.

I mean, If I gab a mini bag of M&M's, and there are 50 in the bag, 6 of those might be red. If I get a HUGE bag, and there are 250 in there, my chances of getting a red one increase.

did that make sense? anyway. I agree. I do feel for the parents, but you can't blame everything on modern medicine.

[Jennygirl]

I heard that that dr who did the study lied...thats a shame.

[Caimbrie]

Originally Posted by pennylayne I agree. there were cases of autism before there were vaccines, and though it may seem like the rate is skyrocketing, keep in mind our world is currently experiencing a huge huge popluation boom, thus more babies, more chances of autism. I mean, If I gab a mini bag of M&M's, and there are 50 in the bag, 6 of those might be red. If I get a HUGE bag, and there are 250 in there, my chances of getting a red one increase. did that make sense? anyway. I agree. I do feel for the parents, but you can't blame everything on modern medicine.

Not so much that, but now we pay attention to those things more closely. Years and years ago lots of mildly autistic people went their whole lives without being diagnosed. Aspergers syndrom has only been diagnosed in recent years. I think that's why it appears to have become more common. It's not necessarily happening to more children now, it's just being found and diagnosed more since autism and other developmental issues are more closely looked for.

[HollyJay]

Originally Posted by pennylayne I agree. there were cases of autism before there were vaccines, and though it may seem like the rate is skyrocketing, keep in mind our world is currently experiencing a huge huge popluation boom, thus more babies, more chances of autism. I mean, If I gab a mini bag of M&M's, and there are 50 in the bag, 6 of those might be red. If I get a HUGE bag, and there are 250 in there, my chances of getting a red one increase. did that make sense? anyway. I agree. I do feel for the parents, but you can't blame everything on modern medicine.

... the proportions would be the same, actually.

But if you grabbed a bag 25 years ago, there may have been some M&M's misdiagnosed as "light brown."

[valmom24]

I do agree with the courts that vaccines do not cause Autism. But I strongly feel there is a mixture of genetics with an environmental trigger when it comes to the regressive form of Autism. That only consists of a small percentage of those diagnosed with Autism. I don't know what the trigger is or could be... but it's has to be something introduced to their systems around that same time.

Heck it just came out and said there was mercury found in High Fructose Corn Syrup... No I don't necessarily think it's mercury that's the culprit, But I'm glad they are fineally open to looking for those triggers!