A Special U.S. Court ruled on Friday that vaccines containing a mercury preservative does not cause autism. Thimerosal, a mercury based preservative used in many vaccines, has been blamed by many parents of autistic children to be the cause of autism. The court ruled that thimerosal based vaccines did not cause the autism of William Mead, an Oregon boy diagnosed with autism. This closes the door on many parents who were seeking payment from the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
This is not the first time the courts have ruled against the vaccine-autism link. In February 2009, the court ruled against three families who claimed vaccines were the cause of their children’s autism. Many parents have questioned vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella; stating the vaccines cause autism in some children. With the ruling today, the door to these claims has been shut.
As of now, there has been little to no scientific link proving autism is caused by vaccines. With 1 in 110 US children with disorders within the autistic family, many parents are looking for anything to help explain the disorder. The truth is, we as of yet do not know what causes autism, or even if it is one disorder or a collection of many. Autism has a vast spectrum, ranging from Asperger’s Syndrome to severe mental retardation. It is understandable that parents want answers, and with this ruling, we can move past vaccines and look toward the real cause of autism.
Some may question why parents made the link in the first place. The simple answer is human error. We look for anything outside ourselves to be the explanation. It is easy to link an unknown chemical to a mental condition, and to hold to that even if scientific evidence does not support it. People want answers, even if they are not correct. Many parents may not wish to consider it was genetics, or something within the general environment that may have caused the autism. To me, learning the cause is important no matter where it leads. I suspect autism is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, however more research is needed.
I have worked with autistic children; it was a very sad and difficult experience. Some of the children did not appear to be severely impacted, while others needed constant supervision. The thing that stuck me the most was the range of disability. I could play basketball with some of the children and hold reasonable conversations, while others had to be watched at all times in fear of them hurting themselves. If my child was autistic, I would want answers. However, let us be sure the answers we provide are correct, so a possible treatment or preventive measure can be created.
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Tags: Autism, Court Ruling, Vaccine
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