I feel a selfless crackpot woman wildly devoted to her son with disabilities, has more to offer me over a cup of coffee in the morning, than a selfish woman who shamelessly promotes her own medical problems ever did.

She used to say her son was an Indigo Child until she discovered another insane idea to latch on to, that vaccines are the cause of autism.

The Indigo Mom/Child thing was mostly harmless I suppose, but the anti-vaccine stuff is garbage that has a body count. People have died because Jenny McCarthy says that vaccines are dangerous.

She should never be given a platform until she gets a clue. I won't hold my breath.

is an idiot. I seriously doubt people are out there saying "well the playboy bunny told me not to get my child vaccinated so I didn't"...

Unfortunately, people are dying because some believe McCarthy and her so-called mommy instincts (the same ignorant instincts that led her to believe her son was a crystal child before she discovered evil vaccines).

The problem is that people believe her.

I mean granted she's not too bright, but if a person decides to trust Jenny McCarthy over their doctor isn't it their problem?

I have a son with Autism. He got the same vaccines as his brothers and they don't have it. Pretty simple.

When vaccination rates fall below herd immunity, it's all of our problem. And the people who suffer the most are those who cannot be vaccinated, new borns and the sick and elderly. Those people depend on the immunity of the vaccinated herd to prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases which could expose them to those pathogens.

Herd immunity occurs at about 90%. There are many communities far below that because of the anti-vaccine quackery, resulting in outbreaks of pertussis and measles and such. Make no mistake, both can be deadly, especially pertussis.

Vaccines are one of the three best medical inventions ever (along with potable water and the flush toilet). We've beat smallpox and are close to beating polio because of vaccines. In my life, polio was a danger. I can remember getting the first Salk vaccine while I was in grade school just as I remember kids walking with crutches.

This is a very important issue.

a very important person, nor is she a doctor.

I think you are blowing this way out of proportion.

But some people want her to be punished forever.

People can and do change their minds - that's what science is all about, I thought. And democracy - you argue with facts and science in favor of the truth, and eventually, (how's that saying go), it wins out (over superstition and misinformation).

Cheers.

around for years and discussed by many.

The fact that this is the only issue that is being discussed regarding McCarthy and that this anti-McCarthy drivel is spreading virulently though the right-wing media says more about the media and the corporations that the media protects than it does about McCarthy.

Follow the money.

Is she going to be punished forever because she was publicly searching for answers after her son's diagnosis?

She never recanted her previous conjecture for her son's challenges, that he was an Indigo Child. Instead she tried to scrub her Web history of her Indigo Mom wackiness.

McCarthy is an uneducated ignoramus whose only benefit to humankind is her pretty face. Her vaccine position, even if she no longer believes it, has harmed people, some who have died.

It's not good enough that she changes her mind if she doesn't recant her previous position. But like her previous Indigo Mom/Child position, I won't hold my breath.

So forgive me if I do not let up on my condemnation and ridicule of Jenny McCarthy. She doesn't get off the hook that easily. She's done real harm. Her vaccine position has had a very real body count.

And it also means that there is an almost zero likelihood that she's going to be pushing anti-vaccine ideas on The View.

And apologize humbly for the harm she's done, the people who've died because of her idiocy.

Then I will let up on her. Until then, to Hell with her.

and then develop autism symptoms. And all the research that is available now wasn't available then -- so it wasn't "idiotic "for her to think there was a causal connection; just wrong.

She's already been through hell. Think about it: she had to live with the horrible belief that the vaccinations she allowed her son to get had caused his autism. That SHE had damaged her child by bringing him to the doctor that day.

It's easy for people like you to condemn her because you've obviously never been through anything like that. Try using a little empathy.

P.S. My mother had to live with a similar burden. My sister had a DPT vaccination at the age of 6 months and that evening went into seizures, was diagnosed with encephalitis, and died. (This was a known risk of the old, whole cell pertussis vaccine.) So I know what it is like for a mother to wish she could turn back the clock and NOT let a child get a vaccine. That's what McCarthy went through, before she finally realized she was wrong.

She doesn't owe the world any mea culpas. We owe her some compassion.

This is the real problem with this issue. Classic post hoc ergo propter hoc illogic.

Vaccines do not cause autism!!!!!!!!!
They never did and never will. How does one know? Because decades of science says so.

And I do not for a second believe that Jenny McCarthy has given up on her anti-science, anti-vaccine ignorance.

I am bowing out of this thread.

Sid

It didn't seem possible but they pulled it off!

No room for disagreement on big pharma products, eh?

There is not one shred of evidence that there is any connection. And the anti-vaxxers lie about it. I don't have to respect such anti-science claptrap.

But, indeed a discussion about big Pharma may be appropriate, but not in context with vaccines/autism. That ship has sailed.

Her son had a vaccine reaction which limited his abilities. Doctors deemed him autistic. Should parents who have this kind of experience, not share it?

No one denies that vaccines can cause adverse reactions in some. Why can't we talk about it when it does happen?

when b happens after a? Is it always coincidence?

in the case of Hannah Poling. Though I am sure she's alone.

Polings parents have refuted that garbage several times.

the Poling family and their credentials. Start by watching the video.

and their story do not constitute evidence of anything.

If you think otherwise, I suggest you familiarze yourself with a science book.

has read a "science book?" Or are there Neurologists who can avoid doing so, in your world?

Sorry. The research is in. The vaccine/autism ship has long since sailed over the horizon.

The incredible shrinking vaccine autism hypothesis shrinks even more

Vaccinated vs Unvaccinated study

The science is pretty damned firm and no post hoc ergo propter hoc illogic is going to change that.

Thanks for responding.

This has been researched over and over again and the conclusions are as firm as any. Read the reports of the research at the Science-Based Medicine Blog. They are well written and explain in good depth what the research says.

Again, my friend, the ship has long since sailed on any connection between vaccines and autism.

I hope you will take some time to read up on this because it is an important issue. Please follow my links to SBM in this thread. Ask your MD about it. Don't trust Playboy Bunnies' pronouncements. Indeed, don't trust mine either.

Other sites, Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization, your local hospital's Web site, etc.

The accurate information is out there. Too many people believe the anecdotes and ignore the science.

Although it's difficult to eliminate all environmental influences, just as a matter of practice.

But I have to repeat, yet again, that the vaccine autism link does not exist. And it is also very unlikely to be environmental links either, but as I indicated, that's more difficult because in science one has to isolate variables and that is difficult or impossible to do for all environmental parameters at once.

The medical research, AFAIK, shows that autism is likely a congenital condition, not environmental, but that is less certain than the exclusion of vaccines as a cause, which is as firm as just about anything.

Again. There is a zero vaccine autism link. And this has been well known for some years now. Those who say otherwise either have an anti-vaccine agenda or are ignorant of the science.

Thanks for your response.

ever. I understand the mindset.

The medical research shows that autism is a result of genetic and environmental factors.

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/director/2012/the-new-genetics-of-autism-why-environment-matters.shtml

Nobody said that vaccines are 100% safe and never harm people. That is a straw man argument because nobody claims that. NOBODY!

Like all medical procedures they have risks. But this has been also studied ad nauseum as well it should be.

Also, citing individual studies that support a preconceived point of view is yet another anti-vaxxer technique. That's called cherry picking. Not all research is equally important or valid.

The only way to responsibly evaluate a scientific hypothesis -- E.G., Vaccines cause autism? -- is to look at the entire body of research on the subject not cherry pick those that agree with ones specific bias.

Again, check out the SBM site which lists a whole plethora of studies. Vaccines and Autism (Introduction at the top, followed by Blog entries, followed by a large list of peer reviewed papers in the scientific literature.)

I list this site because they take the time to clearly describe the research and provide links to the original papers. They also have a very responsible science-based approach, which is what one desires with such questions.

And no! They do not ever claim that vaccines never harm people either. Regardless, the harm is very, very low. The risks from vaccines is minimal. Their benefit is huge!

For Christ sakes! Nobody will ever again die from smallpox. Thank you Edward Jenner.

And now we're talking small pox? Another straw man argument is that anyone that questions anything about any vaccine, wants to end vaccination.

I'll let you think I want to bring back small pox and that every autism diagnosis, is always a result of purely genetic factors, if you like.

I don't wish to duke it out with you. I am not that kind of person.

But your claim of a vaccine autism connection just does not hold up to what the science says. It says emphatically no connection in study after study after study that go back decades.

The research also says that the MMR vaccine (the one usually in question) is safe and effective with very few adverse reactions (not no incidents).

You can find out all you want on the safety and effectiveness at places like the CDC and the WHO Web sites. They will have all the data one needs to evaluate the questions you seem to be asking.

And it is good that you are asking them. I just hope you go to credible sources to answer them and not merely sites which support a particular bias.

Again, I recommend science sites.

Take care and thanks for the good dialog. I enjoyed it even though we both talked past each other. You remained polite. Thanks for that, too. I have to run out to the store, so I will have to end it here.

as well. Have a nice evening.

Just because I do one thing doesn't mean it caused the other thing.

I learned that in high school.

combination of genetics and the environment, too?

who believes the Earth is 6,000 years old (and flat).

I can hardly wait for Science Week!

(i'm not calling you stupid, btw).

All I can say is poor Jim Carry .

is a priest.

At 11 am?

Not saying they're similar ideologically; however the are both crackpots.

Good on her.

nt

post, I thought I had put it in the wrong place.

Since when, Bawa Wawa?

Yep. The View is still useless.