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Posted by Bee K
on 10/30/2009, 6:35 pm, in reply to "Re: War on Science (The Exciting World of Parenting)"
Message modified by user Bee K 10/30/2009, 6:37 pm
I think MMM's flu comment is pretty spot on. Without getting too much into the autism/vaccine controversy, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Autism seems to emerge around the time that children get vaccinated, but they still haven't linked it. Linking them as a causal relationship is really tempting, probably a natural tendency, but there is still not a single study that confirms it. From what I've read, vaccines, diapers, Teletubbies and grandparents are all things that babies are exposed to in their first two years and all have the same likelihood of causing autism. Coincidence is misleading.
- Autism is diagnosed differently now that even a decade ago. Children who used to be diagnosed as "retarded" or some other disability are now diagnosed with autism...this needs to be taken into account when discussing "increases" in autism among children.
- There is a ton more mercury in fish. In a world where mercury was linked to autism, a tuna fish sandwich would be a much bigger concern.
- Not getting vaccinated is not the same as avoiding risk; you're trading one risk for another, and the second is much deadlier. We're living in a time where we're not exposed to the horrors many of these contagious diseases--they aren't pleasant and our grandparents probably have stories. Would you rather gamble with an unproven, speculative risk between autism and a vaccine or the proven, more likely risk of your child getting the measles?
- Many autistic adults have been vocal in reminding us that autism is not a death sentence. Many of these diseases are.
The bottom line is that I don't think parents should worry, but science isn't going to give us a "yes" or "no" answer, either. It is only going to give us a probability, and at this point it seems much smarter to avoid putting a child at risk of contracting an illness that has brought plenty of misery to previous generations.
And God said, "let there be free will."
