1. tsmith
  2. Jenny McCarthy strikes again

Jenny McCarthy strikes again

By tsmith on October 1, 2008.

Just in time for the introduction of Autism's False Prophets by Dr. Paul Offit (the current choice for Scienceblogs' book club), Jenny McCarthy comes out with yet another interview decrying vaccines, blaming autism on the greed of pharmaceutical companies, and how her son was "healed" from autism by his diet, vitamins, and "detoxing".

I'll have a review of Dr. Offit's book up later this week. In the meantime, you can read what he says about it over at the Scienceblogs' Book Club page.

Tags
infectious disease
public health
Skepticism

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On a related (?) note, there is a story on abcnews.go.com saying that Peta has erected a billboard in Newark, NJ, that says "Studies have shown a link between cow's milk and autism."
The article goes on to say "The animal rights group cites two studies by researchers at the University of Rome as reason for the purported "link," even though the studies themselves do not prove any connection between milk and autism."

According to the headline of the article,
"PETA Campaign Angers Autism Groups"

Sigh.

Sorry - when I began my post Nathan's hadn't yet appeared on my computer. I apologize for duplicating his.

Were I at all concerned about vaccines causing autism, the expert I would seek out would be Jenny McCarthy. Why? I cannot reveal my reasons (which would surely result in my being stoned to death by feminists), but they would have nothing to do with Jenny's intellectual prowess.

Seriously, though, why do the media pander to celebrities who espouse the wackiest ideas? And why does the public even pay attention? Fame does not make one an expert in much of anything, generally.

I am happy for her son that he is no longer apparently autistic. I have taught a formerly autistic teenager. His parents (both rabbis, BTW) spent years bringing him out of his autistic state. To my knowledge, he was allowed to drink milk. He had his vaccinations. And he never went through a "detox" program. He had two caring, loving parents, who had a lot of professional help. No miracle cures, just old-fashioned TLC.

I just finished Offit's book.

I must say I liked his writing style, which kept me wanting to keep turning the pages so as to find out what the next section had to say.

Speaking scientifically, I was a little put out that there was not more reference to the medical evidence/science, but at least it was fully referenced and it didn't take much to work out what reference went with which statemant in the text. I guess as a book aimed for a lay audience it was nicely weighted - enough reference to scientific evidence without becoming a turgid, boring turn-off so it remained a readable and "racy" narrative.

I thought he went a bit to much "ad hom" in the section of "behind the mercury curtain", but that in itself is a minor criticism of what overall was a great book.

As someone who is not based in the US, it was nice to get a feel for how vaccine compensation/court cases work in practice.

I am only sorry that he didn't get a chance to talk about the Schoemaker/Seidel incident, or the Hannah Poling case, but hopefully he will do an update for another edition or expand this when the paperback comes out.

tara tires...
it's been a while since we had anything to talk about...

Yeah, simply because all denialists like you want to talk about is how HIV doesn't cause AIDS. I think you guys are tiring, to say the least. I read some of the old threads recently, you guys are batshit crazy!

very good blog, some how i found you researching on stuff for our sons birth defect esophageal atresia, i wish you the best.

So Jenny McCarthy is a blonde quasi-celebrity and therefore an easy target for snarky quasi-intellectuals. So what. The fact that she's taking on the issue publically has people talking about autism that would have never given it a second thought before. Many parents like me trust the concept of vaccination but don't trust Merck. I trust that makes us a target of your snark as well.

hi. I am actually looking for parents to talk to about autistic children, and even Jenny mac. herself.I have worked with Aut. individuals for 37 years and had a young boy of 3 that displayed 99%of autistic characteristics. From self abusiveness, fears of everything in his world, catatonic states lasting up to 3to4 hours at a time. I call him my miracle child .Today he is nine and displays a few anxious behaviors. I also know of a product that has decreased mercury levels of 52 to 12 .Recently they have claimed in some studies that mercury levels are high in autistic ind.. True or Faults?? Hope you can help.

By claudiatomczak (not verified) on 22 Feb 2009 #permalink

Yeah, simply because all denialists like you want to talk about is how HIV doesn't cause AIDS. I think you guys are tiring, to say the least. I read some of the old threads recently, you guys are batshit crazy!