Rep. Susan Lynn (Mercury Ban key legislative sponsor in House)
was interviewed for a recent UPI article:
http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20051107-013626-2098r
The Age of Autism:
Concerned in Tennessee
By DAN OLMSTED,
UPI Senior Editor
Susan Lynn would like some
information, please: What is the autism rate among people living in the
United States right now who have never been vaccinated? If you have that
data or know where to find it, kindly contact her by the end of the
month, care of the Tennessee House of Representatives, which is
considering whether to ban a mercury preservative from childhood
vaccines.
Lynn, a Republican member of
the House, is sponsoring the bill. Lynn's colleagues in the state Senate
already have passed it -- unanimously -- despite protests from the
American Academy of Pediatrics and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
in Memphis. The pediatricians and the renowned hospital say the mercury
preservative, called thimerosal, is not dangerous and not linked to
autism or any other ailment.
What bothers Lynn is they
can't tell her the autism rate in Americans who've never been
vaccinated.
"It just occurred to us, why
doesn't there seem to be a problem (with autism) among unvaccinated
populations?" she said. "Of course, that's anecdotal. There hasn't
really been a study done, but it doesn't seem that there is a problem
among unvaccinated populations.
"It would certainly be
wonderful if the federal government, or a group out there interested in
this, would conduct a study, or maybe there already is information out
there that can be gathered."
Lynn's question echoes one
this column has been raising for several months -- where are the studies
that would exonerate thimerosal by demonstrating that unvaccinated
Americans have just as much autism as those who received the full slate
of state-mandated, mercury-containing childhood immunizations?
"You have to ask yourself why
are there no studies," Lynn said. "We have seen an explosion in autism.
If we saw increases in any other disease like we've seen in autism, it
would be a national crisis. Why is there no funding to investigate this?
"I think it would be very
useful. I don't know if I'll be able to get that data by December when
our study committee meets again. But gosh, if you could be any help. ...
"
This column's admittedly
anecdotal reporting has turned up what looks like a lower prevalence of
autism among the mostly unvaccinated Amish in Pennsylvania, Ohio and
Indiana. Federal health experts say that is not a good group to study
because they might be protected from autism by their isolated gene pool.
They have not suggested an
alternative.
There are other, less
genetically similar groups that don't vaccinate based on their
religious, philosophical or health views. An example: a significant
subset of the 2 million children of families who homeschool. One doctor
who treats such families says they have almost no autism, either.
A number of readers have
offered similar observations about a number of other groups. But none of
it is scientific or conclusive and, unless such studies are done, it
never will be.
"We'd definitely want to look
at a population within the United States of America because that's most
relevant to us," Lynn said. "When you start looking at populations from
other countries, you've got all kinds of other factors that we can't
imagine."
Lynn said that absent such
convincing information, she is willing to err on the side of caution and
ban thimerosal from childhood vaccines.
"I read the science and read
the experience of these parents and I realized, you know what, there
really could be something here. And thimerosal is a poison. There is a
skull and crossbones on that bottle. There's no reason to have that in
there -- so let's take it out."
Lynn's interest in the issue
stems from personal experience. Her son, Michael, was diagnosed with
ADHD -- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder -- at age 3; their
doctor said they would have to wait till he was 6 to put him on Ritalin.
"I said why wait? I'm going
crazy," she recounted. Researching the subject on her own, she came
across the controversial Feingold Diet that eliminates various foods
including those with artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. "I put
him on the diet 100 percent and in three days, to my own astonishment, I
had a normal little boy.
"I was at my doctor when I
showed him Michael could now sit still on the examining table instead of
being under it and in all the drawers and everything. And I was totally
dismissed. So we just agreed to disagree.
"Through the years I have
given this information to a lot of parents and it's worked, it's helped
them," Lynn said. "I realized there is a tremendous amount we don't know
and there is a tremendous amount that doctors for whatever reason
dismiss, even though parents will testify to them, 'This has helped my
child.'"
Michael spent 10 years on the
diet and now, at 21, is doing fine, Lynn said. When the controversy over
a possible thimerosal-autism link arose, she learned that some
scientists suspect ADHD and autism might be on opposite ends of a
spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders triggered by a toxic exposure.
And she said she saw the same pattern of parents being ignored when they
said their child had regressed after vaccination -- and in some cases
improved dramatically after biomedical treatment.
In 1999 the U.S. Public Health
Service and the pediatricians group urged that manufacturers phase out
thimerosal in childhood vaccines as soon as possible. But they say
scientific evidence now shows thimerosal is not responsible for autism;
therefore, banning it ties their hands unnecessarily and injects
politics in a medical decision based on "junk science."
Lynn says she can't understand
that argument. "I think it would be the best public policy for the state
of Tennessee to remove it from children's immunizations. Whether or not
it does contribute to mercury toxicity or autism or whatever you want to
call it, not giving tiny children and newborn babies a chemical that has
a skull and crossbones on the bottle, injected directly into their
bloodstream, can't be a bad thing."
Lynn also questions whether
thimerosal is actually out of all routine childhood immunizations (it
remains in most flu vaccines, which the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention now recommends for pregnant women and for infants 6 to 23
months old).
She said a Tennessee mother
testified at a legislative hearing that her son received an immunization
that contained thimerosal on May, 21, 2004. "He suffered immediate
effects from that and was diagnosed with autism and he's being treated
now and he is coming around," Lynn said.
Six states -- including
California, New York and Illinois -- have banned thimerosal in childhood
vaccines. Lynn said she is now canvassing them to determine whether the
ban has caused problems.
This ongoing series on the roots and rise of autism
welcomes reader comment.
E-mail: dolmsted@upi.com
UPI Senior Editor DAN OLMSTED has
written an entire series of articles on autism.
Several are "Must Read"
including these (paraphrased below):
The Age of
Autism: 'A pretty big secret'
http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20051204-060313-6829r
By DAN OLMSTED
UPI Senior Editor
TFSV Paraphrase: Thousands of children cared for by Homefirst
Health Services in metropolitan Chicago have at least two things in
common with thousands of Amish children in rural Lancaster: They have
never been vaccinated. And they don't have autism. Blue Cross Insurance located this group
because in addition to not having autism, these kids don't have claims
filed or show up in Emergency Rooms with Asthma (8-10% of kids
nationally have asthma). And while these 15,000 babies cut across
all races, religions and socio-economic groups, their one common factor
is not vaccinating.
The Age of
Autism: Question of the year
http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20051214-010303-1521r
By DAN OLMSTED
UPI Senior Editor
TFSV Paraphrase: Given the sheer certitude of federal
health authorities and mainstream medical groups such as the American
Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, we were
surprised we couldn't find comparisons between real-live American kids
who've gotten vaccines, and those who haven't. Officials say such a
study would be hard to do, in part because so many kids are vaccinated
that you couldn't find a "control group" of kids who aren't. (Note:
Approx. 80% of kids nationally get vaccines - leaving an 80/20 group in
society to explore - quite possible from statistical standpoint). Sandy Mintz at vaccinationnews.com writes: "My mantra has always been that
there are almost no vaccine safety or efficacy studies using never
vaccinated children as controls." Mintz asked our question of the year
at a congressional hearing in 2002: "Is NIH (National Institutes
of Health) ever planning on doing a study using the only proper control
group, that is, never vaccinated children?" Dr. Steve Foote of NIH
responded: "I am not aware of...a proposed study to use a suitably
constructed group of never vaccinated children.
The Age
of Autism: Doctors for Mercury
http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20060209-112409-9590r
By DAN OLMSTED
UPI Senior Editor WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (UPI)
TFSV Paraphrase:
As doctors and
health authorities fight state bans on mercury in vaccines and keep
giving it to kids and pregnant women, one fact stands out: their
certainty. The image of pediatricians and public officials as valiant
defenders of mercury takes a bit of getting used to, given their
longstanding efforts to keep the toxic element out of our food, our
bodies and the environment. No reasonable person -- let alone health
professional -- would advocate keeping mercury in childhood vaccines
unless they were absolutely certain it was an exception to this lethal
legacy. That's especially so because vaccines can be made without the
mercury preservative, called thimerosal. You can take it out and still
protect the health of American children through vaccination, and if you
had a shred of doubt about its safety, surely you would. If you keep it
in, you had better be right. But what is the real degree of certainty
that thimerosal is safe? Is it absolute? Beyond a reasonable doubt?
Finally, there's an additional very
significant article that all parents of children with autism should be
aware of and able to share:
Study links
autism to mercury from coal plants
Emissions may contribute to rise in cases, Texas researcher says
Reuters, March 17, 2005
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7218182/
TFSV Paraphrase:
Mercury released primarily from
coal-fired power plants may be contributing to an increase in the number
of cases of autism, a Texas
researcher said.
“The main
finding is that for every thousand pounds of environmentally released
mercury, we saw a 17 percent increase in autism rates.”
The study looked at Texas county-by-county levels of mercury emissions
recorded by the government and compared them to the rates of autism and
special education services in 1,200 Texas school districts, Miller said.
“The study shows that there may
be a very important connection between environmental exposure to mercury
and the development of autism.”
RELIGIOUS EXEMPTION:
There may be a form required by the state now, but I used to just
write an informative letter, ending with: "For these reasons & others
______________will NOT and shall NOT be immunized--due to
family religious tennets and practice in accordance with Tennessee
Code Annotated (TCA) 49-6-5001(b)(2)" to get a religious exemption.
Informative Letter:
http://www.vaclib.org/legal/refuselt.htm
There's several great
Religious Vaccine Exemption Letters
at Tami's Autism Fliers website:
http://AutismFliers.tripod.com
Autism
Support Lists
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Autism-Mercury/
5771 members (National Autism-Mercury)
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/EnzymesandAutism
5196 members (Autism & enzymes/supplements discussion group)
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/chelatingkids2/
3240 members (Chelating Kids--must have a child on chelation)
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/abmd
2703 members (Autism biomedical discussion group)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EOHarm
1219 members ('Evidence of Harm' discussion group)
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/asd_solutions/
499 members - (Autism Spectrum Disorders--biomedical options)
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/UAAlert/
445 members (Unlocking Autism)
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Autism-Lead
250 members (lead) Plumbism & Autism Network (PAN)
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/focus_the_nation/
55 members (Focus the Nation--on Autism)
TENNESSEE YAHOO LISTS:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/TASK-Tennessees-Autism-Spectrum-Kids
234 members (Tennessee Autism Spectrum Kids)
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Autism_In_Tennesse/
152 members (Autism in Tennessee)