ABC Targeted Over Drama on Vaccines, Autism

Jan 30, 11:54 AM

First lady Barbara Richardson and other New Mexicans have joined a national chorus calling for ABC to cancel the first episode of a new TV series they say wrongly links children's vaccines with autism.

The debut of ABC's new drama, "Eli Stone," features a lawyer who sues a pharmaceutical company on behalf of a mother who believes her child's autism was caused by a mercury-based preservative in a vaccine. It airs 9 p.m. Thursday.

"If, as a result of watching this program, parents become reluctant to vaccinate their children, then children will die of preventable diseases," Richardson wrote to ABC.

The show's co-creators say they have no intention of discouraging parents from immunizing their children.

Autism spectrum disorders are marked by an inability to form friendships or to interact with others socially or emotionally, according to the American Psychiatric Association.

Some parents and advocates contend that thimerosal, a preservative used in some vaccines before 2001, is a primary cause of autism.

Advocates of childhood vaccinations respond that studies have found no connection between vaccines and autism.

"There just isn't any scientific evidence to support this position," Dr. Karen Armitage, chief medical officer of the New Mexico Department of Health, said Tuesday.

Armitage also wrote to ABC, saying it would be "irresponsible to mislead parents of young children about the risks of childhood vaccines."

Others calling for ABC to scrap the program include the American Academy of Pediatrics president Dr. Renee R. Jenkins, who accused ABC of "reckless irresponsibility" for perpetuating "the myth that vaccines cause autism."

"We would be deeply upset" if parents opted against vaccination because of the episode, said Greg Berlanti, a co-creator of the show.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(c) 2008 Albuquerque Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved. ABC Targeted Over Drama on Vaccines, Autism
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