AAP trying to cancel show due to its portrayal of vaccinations

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Pediatricians Group Wants Show Canceled

By LINDSEY TANNER,AP

Posted: 2008-01-28 19:56:39

CHICAGO (AP) - The nation's largest pediatricians' group on Monday

said ABC should cancel the first episode of a new series because it

perpetuates the myth that vaccines can cause autism.

ABC's new drama, " Eli Stone, " debuts on Thursday. It features British

actor Jonny Lee as a prophet-like lawyer who in the opening

episode argues in court that a flu vaccine made a child autistic.

When it is revealed in court that an executive at the fictional

vaccine maker didn't allow his own child to get the shot, jurors side

with the family, giving them a huge award.

The show's co-creators say they're not anti-vaccine and would be

upset if parents chose not to immunize their children after seeing

the show.

But, said Dr. R. , president of the influential American

Academy of Pediatrics, " A television show that perpetuates the myth

that vaccines cause autism is the height of reckless irresponsibility

on the part of ABC and its parent company, The Walt Disney Co. "

" If parents watch this program and choose to deny their children

immunizations, ABC will share in the responsibility for the suffering

and deaths that occur as a result. The consequences of a decline in

immunization rates could be devastating to the health of our nation's

children, " said in a statement.

Autism is a complex disorder featuring repetitive behaviors and poor

social interaction and communication skills. Scientists generally

believe that genetics plays a role in causing the disorder; a theory

that a mercury-based preservative once widely used in childhood

vaccines is to blame has been repeatedly discounted in scientific

studies.

The academy released the text of a letter wrote on Friday,

addressed to Anne Sweeney, president of Disney-ABC Television Group.

In the letter, writes that many viewers " trust the health

information presented on fictional television shows, which influences

their decisions about health care. "

noted that erroneous reports in the United Kingdom linking

the measles vaccine to autism prompted a decline in vaccination and

the worst outbreak of measles in two decades.

Greg Berlanti, a co-creator of the show, said the episode is

fictional but designed " to participate in what is a national

conversation " about a controversial subject. He said the boy who

plays the autistic child has autism, but that the show's producers

have no connection with advocates involved in the autism debate.

" We would be deeply upset " if parents opted against vaccination

because of the episode, Berlanti said.

Marc Guggenheim, who helped create the show, said the first episode

shows how a fictional company covered up a study that raised

questions about its product, and that the message is really

about " the downside of the corporatization of America. "

On the Net:

Academy: http://www.aap.org

ABC: http://www.abc.com

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the

AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or

otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The

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01/28/08 19:55 EST