AutismActionNetwork: Vaccine court fails: Join call for Congressional hearings into Mercury-Autism Link

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----- Forwarded Message ----To: Karp Sent: Mon, March 15, 2010 5:08:00 AMSubject: Vaccine court fails: Join call for Congressional hearings into Mercury-Autism Link

Vaccine “Court†Denies Justice to Vaccine-Injured Children

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Mercury-Autism Link Not Found Because of Government Policy, not Science

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In a decision released last Friday afternoon, the Autism Action Network, a founding member organization of the Coalition for Vaccine Safety (CVS), believes that the Special Masters of the Court of Federal Claims (the Vaccine Court) wrongly decided that mercury-containing vaccines do not cause autism. The decision was the last of three test cases selected to

"The government is completely inconsistent, we know from the Hannah Poling and the Banks cases that vaccines can cause autism," said Gilmore, executive director of the Autism Action Network. "It is as if they are saying, 'Vaccines never cause autism, except when they do.'"

The Special Masters appear to have based their decisions on the government policy to protect the vaccine program rather than to fulfill their role to do justice by vaccine-injured children. In these three 'test case' decisions in the Omnibus Autism Proceeding, petitioners Mead, Jordan King and Colin Dwyer developed normally through the first year of life and then regressed into autism. They presented thousands of pages of scientific documentation and testimony. Their evidence showed that thimerosal, a mercury-laden vaccine preservative, more likely than not contributed to their autism.

"The deck is stacked against families in Vaccine Court. Government attorneys defend a government program, using government-funded science, before government judges. Where's the justice in that?" asked Estepp, a CVS steering committee member and mother of a petitioner in the Omnibus Autism Proceeding.

"This has been a huge, but legally necessary, waste of time for the injured kids and their families," said Gilmore, "At least now we will have a chance in a real court where we have the basics rights denied in the Vaccine court."

Mercury is a known neurotoxin and that damages the developing brain and the immune system. All three boys' health improved through medical interventions to reduce mercury toxicity and immune dysfunction. Nonetheless, the Special Masters concluded that petitioners failed to meet their burden of proof, even though Health and Human Services (HHS), the respondent in the proceeding, offered no alternative explanation other than genetic predisposition.

The Coalition for Vaccine Safety (CVS) is an alliance of organizations dedicated to vaccine safety representing over 75,000 families. In recent letters to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of House and Senate Committees charged with oversight of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Coalition called for hearings to investigate HHS, the CDC and other government agencies. Those federal agencies have failed to comply with the terms of the 1986 Vaccine Injury Compensation Act (VICA). Specifically they have failed to provide critical vaccine safety science, including from the taxpayer-funded Vaccine Safety Datalink, on thimerosal, autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Vaccine court decisions and revelations about Dr. Thorsen's actions only strengthen the Coalition's resolve in calling for immediate Congressional action to investigate vaccine safety - an issue that potentially affects every person in the country.

"We are confident that the truth will win out. We hope that Congress will intervene in what is clearly a miscarriage of justice to vaccine-injured children," said Jim Moody, an attorney and CVS steering committee member.

Please join the Autism Action Network and the Coalition for Vaccine Safety in calling for Congressional hearings in to the may failures of the federal vaccine program. To send an email to your Representative in the House and your to Senators please click on the Take Action

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