Jenny McCarthy is well known as a model and actor, but in recent days she's getting far more publicity for her stance that vaccines cause autism. She has a son who may be autistic, and of course we are sympathetic to her plight. But that can only go so far when Ms. McCarthy appears on endless chat shows, is interviewed in magazine articles, and even writes books encouraging people not to vaccinate their children.
Numerous, well-done studies have shown conclusively that there is no causal link between vaccines and the onset of autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) - the claim that they are connected is spurious, based on anecdotes and the fact that vaccines are given to children around the same time that ASD symptoms begin to appear.
The antivaccination movement has been directly linked with outbreaks of various vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, and there have been numerous illnesses and even deaths associated with these outbreaks. The facts are in, and have been for quite some time: vaccines are an overwhelming modern medical success story, having eradicated such scourges as smallpox, and hugely lowering rates of other diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, polio, influenza, and diptheria. The evidence is also overwhelmingly against any link between vaccines and autism as well.
Yet all that evidence has been overturned in the public's mind with ease and alacrity by Ms. McCarthy, so she wins the Pigasus award for her contribution to the country's ill-health.
Jenny McCarthy first got famous in 1993 when she showed her vagina in Playboy, but really found her calling when her 2-year old son was diagnosed with not-autism then not-autism then not-autism then autism (1). So clearly her son had autism, and she blamed vaccines for giving it to him. Specifically the measles vaccine, which up until 1999 contained mercury. Jenny's son was born in 2002 and did not receive a vaccine with mercury (2), but she spoke out to have it banned anyway. Again. Extra-banned, and for kids like her son who didn’t get it in the first place to not get it even more in the future. Because now he’s cured. But not really. Or maybe he never had it to begin with. Either way, all that public speaking has led Oprah Winfrey to give Jenny her very own talk-show!
McCarthy has inked a multi-year overall deal with Winfrey’s Harpo Prods. to develop projects on different platforms, including a syndicated talk show that the actress/author would host.McCarthy talked to the chat queen about her struggles with her son’s autism in conjunction with the releases of her best-selling books “Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism” and “Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds.” McCarthy also was part of Winfrey’s Friday Live panels twice, including this past Friday.
The worst thing about Jenny's baseless hippie ramblings is that it gives people false hope. If I thought for one second the measles vaccine could miraculously transform them into nearly invisible mutes I would stab them in the heart with it.
No comments:
Post a Comment