Friday, July 29, 2005

What Exactly Is Patriotism Again?

I just learned this morning that there was an addendum attached to the Patriot Act that will protect pharmaceutical companies from being sued by parents of autistic children should it be proven conclusively that there is a link between autism and vaccinations. Apparently, vaccines used to contain a drug called Thimerasol (a form of mercury) that may or may not have caused autism in children. They stopped manufacturing vaccines with Thimerasol in 2000 and so far it is inconclusive whether or not the Thimerasol caused any harm. But why, if this link is proven to be true, should the companies who manufactured the vaccines be protected by law? Also, why on earth would something like this be included in a bill about national security? Grrrr. I don't know all the details surrounding this but now I have something new to research. For the time being I'm sticking with "Grrrrr."



4 comments:

  1. Tracey, Here's a link with lots of reference sources to start out with:
    http://www.quackwatch.org/03HealthPromotion/immu/autism.html

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  2. Thanks for the link. I certainly hope there is no connection between the two. I just don't why this issue is included in a homeland security bill? It just comes across as shady. I would love to have a law that says bills should be limited to a single topic.

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  3. I'm also confused about the wording of the law. I mean, why are the companies still protected even if it is proven that the mercury was damaging?

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  4. Yeah. I also have a problem with the practice of tacking unrelated items onto new bills. I understand that sometimes it's a matter of negotiation in order for both sides to get what they want. "I'll vote for your bill, if you'll agree to adding the following ..." As far as the companies being protected - I suppose one could consider that the lawsuits that would follow such a discovery could very well force drug companies out of the vaccine business. Just an opinion.

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