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Autism: The Debate Continues
Written By: Belinda Luscombe
T
he autism debate continues
throughout 2017. Sites such as
Focus for Health are in renunciation 32
of the majority opinion that is backed by a
myriad 33 of scientific evidence. They state
that “many families insist that their child
developed normally, but then regressed
into autism after receiving routine immunizations”
(Mulvihill para 2) but give no
information on how they collected this information.
The scope of the demographics
is not shown by this statement, and
this allows us to come to the conclusion
that the information is not credible. They
base their argument off of the United
States Vaccine Injury Compensation Program
“awarding financial compensation
to parents of autistic children” (Mulvihill
para 3). The USVIC program was created
as a no fault alternative to going
through traditional courts for resolving
disputes against vaccine companies. This
program was created when vaccination
rates were at a low and the vaccination
companies were struggling to survive because
of all the lawsuits that amassed on
them. The program allowed for the companies
to produce vaccinations and not
deal with lawsuits against them. In a rare
case that something were to happen as a
result from the vaccine, such as a severe
allergic reaction, this program allows for
parents to file a petition with the Court of
Federal Claims to start off the process.
From there the petition is reviewed to
see if it meets the proper medical criteria
for compensation from the program,
and they make a preliminary reccomendation.
The U.S. Department of Justice
receives it next and there they develop
it further with medical reccomendations
and the legal analysis, which they go on
to submit to the Court. A special master
appointed by the court then reviews the
petition and decides whether or not there
should be compensation, and if there is
going to be they also decide how much
and how the compensation will come. This
step also often offers a hearing where
both parties in the case can show their
evidence. The final step in the process is
the Court ordering the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services to award
compensation to the victim, and that is if
they decided that it should be awarded.
If they do not come to the decision, it is
also possible for the courts to order the
Department to cover the attorneys’ cost.
“In accessible 34 efforts to save vaccine
companies Congress passed a law that
made those harmed or negatively affected
by a vaccine could no longer sue the
vaccine producers” (Mulvihill para 5).
They think that this takes all the pressure
off of the vaccine companies, allowing
them to create vaccines that are less safe
than before, as the companies no longer
have to worry about getting sued if the
product does something it should not to
a user. Their goal is dissembled 35 behind
this law. They state that through 1940-
1980, autism rates remained stable, but
after 1980 is when we saw an increase
in autism because the vaccine schedule
expanded. Not taken into consideration
here is the fact that more parents came
forward to doctors, and the definition for
autism expanded, encompassing more
people that would have been considered
24 TIME May 31, 2017
Fig Raptor, The Original Skeptical. “The End of the Vaccines Cause Autism Myth.” Skeptical Raptor. N.p., 17 Apr. 2016. Web. 29 May 2017.