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For Immediate Release [first published on February 12, 2009] The League to Fight Neurelitism is a public sociology and an advocacy journalism project. Our official policy is to actively promote the application of United Nations values on human rights and social justice to all autistics. Some hypotheses have posited a causal relationship between a mercury-based compound called thimerosal (also known as thiomersal or Merthiolate®) in certain vaccinations (such as the MMR vaccine for the measles, the mumps, and rubella) and the autism spectrum. While these predictions have been thoroughly rejected, as unsupported, by mainstream researchers, a community of true believers, often bolstered by conspiracy theories, has persisted. The last few days have witnessed two significant developments in this area. First, evidence has surfaced, according to the Sunday Times of London, that Dr. Andrew Wakefield's research, which first proposed the connection between thimerosal and autism, was allegedly fabricated. Second, the Omnibus Autism Proceedings before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., dismissed complaints and requests for monetary damages, writing, "The evidence does not support the general proposition that thimerosal-containing vaccines can damage infants' immune systems." It is the position of The League to Fight Neurelitism that, rather than expending one's limited energies upon demonstrated medical quackery and morbid conspiracy theories, a considerably more worthwhile avenue of attention is the pursuit of global human rights and social justice for autistics. At such a time when legitimate scientists uncover the probable causes for autism, the League hopes that this data will be systematically applied to ameliorate the life chances of autistics, not to wipe us out. Respectfully submitted,
Mark A. Foster, Ph.D. -30- |
