Thimerosal in Immunizations May Be Linked to Autism

Thimerosal, 49.6 percent ethyl mercury by weight, is at the center of the debate. There is no dispute of neurotoxicity of mercury, often referred to as the second most toxic element on Earth. Introduced by Eli Lilly in 1930, thimerosal was tested only once on 22 adult patients suffering from meningitis. There was no chance for follow-up to observe long-term effects, since all of the patients in this study died.

Even if follow-up had been possible, damage to the developing brains of very young children would have remained unknown. Thimerosal was pronounced safe and later grandfathered in when the FDA was created. The first eleven cases of autism documented in 1943 were in children who were among the first to be vaccinated with mercury in the solution.

The federal government has never conducted specific test on the neurotoxicity of thimerosal, although hundreds of published studies and documents attest to its extreme toxicity.

The medical establishment and government health agencies in the United States tell us they have found no link of the mercury in vaccines to neurological disorders, but they can’t plausibly explain where all these disabled children are coming from, except to say it’s due to “better diagnosing.”

The press and the medical community in the United States usually give the last word on thimerosal safety to the Federal health agencies, ignoring that these agencies have a strong bias. They approved, mandated and promoted the use of mercury in vaccines. They’re also the agencies whose individuals have over 700 conflict-of-interest waivers of direct financial ties to the vaccine manufacturers. They could hardly be expected to announce that they’ve allowed an entire generation of children to be exposed to a dangerous neurotoxin, with possibly devastating results.

More people are joining in the debate. Robert Kennedy, Jr. and journalist David Kirby were initially skeptical of any link between vaccines and autism, but after studying the issue, they concluded that there might well be a connection.

A Kennedy Fuels Autism Debate

In his new book, Evidence of Harm, David Kirby points out that “...many researchers had sent the company [Eli Lilly] documents dating back to the 1930s, each raising a red flag about thimerosal.” (pp. 207-209). Mr. Kirby chronologically lists over 70 years of scientific research on the damaging and deadly effects of thimerosal that was willfully ignored by Eli Lilly and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) (www.evidenceofharm.com/.)

Starting in the late 1980s more vaccines with mercury were added to our children’s list of required vaccines, without any regard for the total mercury exposure children were receiving. It will be up to the media to investigate the facts concerning mercury and autism. Nothing could possibly be a more crucial issue than the health and welfare of our children.

Links:
“A cover-up for a cause of Autism?” Joe Scarborough interviews Robert Kennedy, Jr. Scarborough Country June 22, 2005.

Interviews with David Kirby on Evidence of Harm at www.autismmedia.org/eoh.html

“The Age of Autism: But what about 1930?” By Dan Olmsted at news.monstersandcritics.com/lifestyle/consumerhealth/article_1039862.php

Anne McElroy Dachel is the Media Relations Coordinator for the National Autism Association. She can be reached at 715-723-0913 and emailed at amdachel@msn.com.