Eli Stone, the new ABC legal drama, is already in trouble. This is interesting news since the first show hasn't even premiered yet. The trouble is stemming from the American Academy of Pediatrics, who want the first episode of the series canceled because it feeds into the myth that vaccines can cause autism.
In the series premiere, which airs after Lost this Thursday, lawyer-turned-reluctant-prophet Eli Stone argues in court that a flu vaccine made a child autistic. Dr. Renee R. Jenkins, president of the AAP, said that both ABC and its parent company, Walt Disney, are being irresponsible by airing the show because it will be perpetuating the vaccine=autism belief. Dr. Jenkins added that the network would share in the responsibility for the suffering and deaths if parents who watched the program chose to deny their children immunizations. Dr. Jenkins also mentioned that many viewers trust the health information presented on fictional television shows.
Greg Berlanti, co-creator of Stone said that the show's producers had no connection with advocates involved in the autism debate. Creator Marc Guggenheim added to this statement by saying that the first episode is more about the downside of the corporatization of America rather than a platform to debate the pros and cons of child immunizations.
If I can get on my soapbox for a moment, I feel Dr. Jenkins is so out of line here that the line is a dot to her. The doctor's statements make us all seem like lemmings who take everything that appears on scripted television as rote. Come on! We may have short attention spans, but we're a pretty smart group of people here, especially when it comes to the care of our children, and we can tell what's real and what's not.
In addition, it seems to me that she believes that the entire adult population of the United States will be watching the first episode of Eli Stone. I know that's what Berlanti and Guggenheim probably wish, and I know Lost is a popular show, but his claims are a bit lofty. If Stone retains half of the Lost audience for its series premiere then it is doing a good job.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-29-2008 @ 5:41PM
John said...
"Dr. Renee R. Jenkins, president of the AAP, said that both ABC and its parent company, Walt Disney, are being irresponsible by airing the show because it will be perpetuating the vaccine=autism belief."
Y'know... if Darwin were alive today, he'd have a *lot* more data for his theories....
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1-29-2008 @ 5:44PM
Billie said...
How do they know that immunizations DON'T cause autism? They don't even know what DOES cause autism, so how can they say that this show is irresposonsible for suggesting that it is possible for autism to be caused by immunizations? Besides the fact that this is a TV show, and anyone who gets their medical advice from a TV show has mental health issues that immunizations can't even begin to help.
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1-29-2008 @ 6:50PM
gogouburi9 said...
//If I can get on my soapbox for a moment, I feel Dr. Jenkins is so out of line here that the line is a dot to him. His statements make us all seem like lemmings who take everything that appears on scripted television as rote.//
I agree completely. Plus, it's just something they are tossing out there that has been talked about for years. And if Holly Robinson Peete and Jenny McCarthy (both parents of autistic children) can be believed, the association has toned down on their rhetoric that immunizations do not cause autism and say that more studies needs to be done.
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1-29-2008 @ 6:53PM
Paul said...
I certainly wouldn't say it's a myth. It's a studied phenomenon that is, at worst, one of the theories out there. Besides, as has been pointed out, it's a TV show. When "Boston Legal" shows a murderer getting off without jail time, you don't see people claiming that BL is pro-murder!
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1-29-2008 @ 7:14PM
Argus said...
It is a myth because it is a studied phenomenon which has been debunked. Humeral theory has been studied too, but it is also a myth.
I agree with the doctor. People know that advertising is alot of crap too, but guess what? It works. If even 10 people out of the millions who watch the premiere are influenced it's far too many. ABC should put a disclaimer at the end of every advertising break.
1-29-2008 @ 7:11PM
C C said...
The fact that Eli Stone will addressing the vaccine preservative/autism controversy makes me more likely to check it out. My brother was autistic, although his condition was most likely due to a brain injury he suffered when he was a toddler. I suspect there are multiple causes for autism, including the mercury in the vaccines. But because the vaccines aren't the sole cause, the experts "dismiss" any possibilty that the mercury in the vaccines could be causing any problem. It's a terrible joke-they warn us about mercury in tuna and caution pregnant women not to eat too much fish, but at the same time they tell us the mercury preservative in vaccines won't hurt babies. They're nuts if they think people shouldn't be skeptical.
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1-29-2008 @ 7:16PM
Argus said...
They don't use mercury in Vaccines anymore, one of the reasons they debunked mercury in Vaccines as the cause was that rates didn't change after mercury was eliminated.
1-29-2008 @ 7:21PM
Marty said...
There is no credible scientific evidence linking vaccines to autism. The first rule of science is that correlation does not equal causation. So Dr. Jenkins has every right to be upset about a TV show making this claim. Its similar to a TV show that features a main character suing a man for transmitting HIV to another person because he brushed up against someone. We would all agree that would be irresponsible. And it is true that people on TVsquad aren't lemmings, but lets face it a lot of people in America are lemmings. And if the TV show causes just a few people to no longer vaccinate his or her child then its one too many. Additionally, CC, since California banned mercury in vaccines autism still increased.
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1-29-2008 @ 7:36PM
AutomagV said...
Oh man, you mean television isn't real? Are you telling me that some people don't have the ability to bring people back to life with a touch, or smoke monsters aren't chasing survivors of an Australian plane crash on a mysterious island? I am so confused.
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1-29-2008 @ 7:42PM
C C said...
Yes, I know the mercury has mostly been removed from the vaccines-which is good. Mercury is a toxin, plain and simple. And I said that I believe there are multiple causes for autism-which is why these "studies" will probably not show a significant drop.
The doctor who saved my life when I was seriously ill about 20 years ago has been one of the major crusaders against mercury in vaccines. The studies may not show that the mercury preservatives were a cause of autism, but his testimony from years of treating autistic children is totally believeable.
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2-06-2008 @ 2:20PM
AR said...
they didnt completely remove the mercury you can still get vaccinated with it!!!! also flu shot is mostly mercury
1-29-2008 @ 7:55PM
Blair Mitchelmore said...
I didn't really like that about the pilot when I watched the pre-air last month, but at the same time, one of the early episodes of The Pretender espoused Reflexology, so I've become accustomed to entertaining shows backing nonsense. You know that Martin Sheen is a 9/11 truther, right?
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1-29-2008 @ 8:29PM
Old Goat said...
The CDC told us that mercury in vaccines caused the autism epidemic in 1999. Since then, they've been trying to cover it up. The real proof is in the kids who've been cured of autism by chelating the mercury out of their brains.
1-29-2008 @ 8:51PM
Jose said...
John Edwards made millions and put lots of good doctors out of work perpetuating this myth about autism and vaccines.
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1-29-2008 @ 10:32PM
jamie p. said...
Oh Good Gracious! Anyone who believes everything they see on tv, especially nighttime soaps, needs to get a life.
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1-30-2008 @ 11:27AM
rick cokely said...
I say good for them. If you're stupid enough to believe what you see on TV, maybe the gene pool doesn't need you.
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1-30-2008 @ 1:23PM
Ben R said...
get the fuck over it people
its only a tv show
worry about your own life
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1-30-2008 @ 2:39PM
Nyree said...
Thanks to AAP, now I'm going to watch this show. They're getting the exact opposite effect with what they're trying to do! Thank you!
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1-30-2008 @ 9:04PM
Rach said...
I can't believe people still buy the ridiculous, completely not based in fact, myth that vaccines cause autism. You want some truth? The infections prevented by vaccines, like Hib and Hepatitis and a host of others, not to mention the new HPV vaccine, are fact and they can actually kill you. Like, not theoretically, but in real life. I think it's ABC's right to air this show, but it's also totally irresponsible. The above analogy about HIV is spot on.
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2-06-2008 @ 2:21PM
AR said...
those vaccines dont have mercury in them like the mmr