AGE OF AUTISM

HOLLAND ON THE OMNIBUS AUTISM PROCEEDING: 5/16

By Mary Holland, Esq.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Continued Cross Examination of Dr. Mumper

Mr. Johnson, Respondent’s lawyer, asked questions about Dr. Mumper’s testimony in a previous civil case in Baltimore in 2007, the Blackwell case.  Dr. Mumper submitted a deposition and testified at an evidentiary hearing.  She did not specifically mention neuroinflammation in that case, although it was also related to TCVs.  She did cite to Dr. Zimmerman’s work, although it is Dr. Mumper’s impression that Dr. Zimmerman does not share her view that TCVs are linked with autism. 

HOLLAND ON THE OMNIBUS AUTISM PROCEEDING: 5/15

By Mary Holland, Esq.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Special Master Hastings repeated to new family members present how much the Court appreciates the family members being in court.  Even though the Special Masters didn’t meet William and Jordan, we have met other autistic children in the proceeding and have read the records carefully.  We have an idea what it’s like to be raising an autistic child, and we want to extend our sympathy to the family members.  It’s also obvious what an admirable job these families have done, along with other families of autistic children, to overcome these challenges and to bring these children along.  That comes through very clearly in the records of these two children.  We have great admiration for these two families.  And we are also very grateful that these cases are test cases in the proceeding.  We greatly appreciate your allowing your cases to be included.  I want to thank you very much.

I also want to clarify the difference between general causation and specific causation.  The Vaccine Act is set up to deal with individual cases.  The Special Masters have to resolve individual cases.  But because it doesn’t make sense to hear expert witnesses 5,000 different times, we’re hearing testimony now on general causation as well as on two test cases.  So this is a combination proceeding.  We’re taking general causation testimony for both sides – all three Special Masters will analyze that testimony – but individual Special Masters will decide individual cases.  I will decide Jordan King; William Mead is assigned to Special Master Campbell-Smith and Special Master Vowell will apply the general causation testimony to a third case that will be selected.

HECKENLIVELY ON THE OMNIBUS AUTISM PROCEEDING: 5/16

A Quivering Mass of Jello – The Omnibus Autism Proceeding – Second Set of Hearings (Thimerosal & Autism) – Day Five – May 16, 2008

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

The ideal of a good cross-examination is to reduce the witness to a quivering mass of Jello who can’t even tell you his own name.  It rarely happens.

Sometimes you can shake their story or expertise enough to sow doubt in the court’s mind.
At other times you make a mistake by engaging in extended cross-examination because the witness gets another chance to tell his story.  My opinion is that’s what happened in this day’s cross-examination of Dr. Mumper by the government attorneys.

Continued Cross-Examination of Dr. Mumper (Expert witness for the families)

There were some questions about Dr. Mumper’s testimony in a 2007 case and whether she had included information on neuro-inflammation.  In that case the child suffered cardiac arrest and a seizure after his 18 month vaccination.  The parents were told by their doctors that these conditions could not have been caused by the vaccination.

The child later died at the age of 18 years old from a seizure in his sleep.

HECKENLIVELY ON THE OMNIBUS AUTISM PROCEEDING: 5/14

Turning the Tide – The Omnibus Autism Proceeding – Second Set of Hearings (Thimerosal & Autism) – Day Three – May 14, 2008

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

Memo to government attorneys:  When CBS News puts the expert report for the opposing side on their web-site you’re probably losing the public relations battle.

As reported by Mary Holland in her account that’s exactly what they did with Dr. Kinsbourne’s report and the rest of the day did not go much better for the defense.

HOLLAND ON THE OMNIBUS AUTISM PROCEEDING: 5/14

By Mary Holland, Esq.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Note:  The experts testify before the Special Masters with Powerpoint presentations.  It is difficult to comprehend their testimony without reference to their visual materials.  Experts’ Powerpoint presentations will be available at the A-CHAMP website at [http://www.achamp.org].

Direct Examination of Dr. Marcel Kinsbourne, M.D.

Here’s a link to his expert report, posted by CBS News: (HERE)

Dr. Kinsbourne is a pediatric neurologist with significant professional credentials.  Although Dr. Kinsbourne previously practiced medicine, he now is engaged primarily in research and writing.  Dr. Kinsbourne is testifying only on general causation, not about the two boys in the test cases. 

HECKENLIVELY ON THE OMNIBUS AUTISM PROCEEDING: 5/13

Beating up the Burglar – The Omnibus Autism Proceeding – Second Set of Hearings (Thimerosal & Autism) – Day Two – May 13, 2008

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

I’ve often tried to imagine what it must be like to be an attorney bringing one of those frivolous law suits we hear about so often in the news. 

You know, like the burglar who surprises some sleeping homeowner who beats the heck out of him before calling the police, then turns around and sues the homeowner for assault and battery.

HOLLAND ON THE OMNIBUS AUTISM PROCEEDING: 5/13

By Mary Holland, Esq.

Note:  The experts testify before the Special Masters with Powerpoint presentations.  It is difficult to comprehend their testimony without reference to their visual materials.  Experts’ Powerpoint presentations will be available at the A-CHAMP website HERE.

Continued Cross examination of Dr. Aposhian

Ms. Renzi continued with questions about methyl vs. ethyl mercury exposures; can methyl mercury exposures lead to autism?  Dr. Aposhian said these are important questions but that there are no certain answers.  No one looked at autism rates in the Seychelles or Faroe Islands after the methyl mercury studies there, although Dr. Aposhian thought that Dr. Clarkson was now looking at this issue.

HECKENLIVELY ON THE OMNIBUS AUTISM PROCEEDING: 5/12

Once More into the Breach! – The Omnibus Autism Proceeding – Second Set of Hearings (Thimerosal & Autism) – Day One – May 12, 2008

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

With the very able assistance of Professor Mary Holland of New York University School of Law, the two of us will be bringing you commentary on this second part of what David Kirby has aptly called the “Autism Trial of the Century”.

This should enable me to produce quicker reports as I will be concentrating mainly on commentary while the esteemed Professor Holland will be covering the details of each day’s testimony.

The opening of a legal proceeding is supposed to be a preview of the fight to come and neither side disappointed.

OMNIBUS AUTISM PROCEEDING: Monday, May 12, 2008

Summary of Monday, May 12, 2008 proceeding.

By Mary Holland, Esq.

Test Cases of Jordan King and William Mead for Petitioners’ Second Theory that Thimerosal Alone Causes Autism

Opening Statements:

Special Master Hastings:

Special Master Hastings opened the evidentiary hearing by introducing himself and Special Masters Vowell and Campbell-Smith.  He said that the proceeding has two purposes:  to hear the claims of Jordan King and William Mead about autism and other medical issues and to hear testimony that this autism is vaccine-related on the theory that thimerosal alone can cause autism.  All three Special Masters will evaluate general causation evidence; individual cases will be decided by one Special Master using evidence from the general causation hearing.

DR. OFFIT'S CONFLICT OF INTEREST SHOULD DISALLOW HIM FROM COMMENTING

By Kim Stagliano

Below is a quote from Paul Offit about this week's Federal court case that is as condescending as anything we've read recently. And is especially galling to parents of vaccine injured children, as it comes from a man whose own vaccine, RotaTeq, just killed a child (Read more HERE) and has injured many others. "Endearing?" Surely a man with his education could have chosen a less patronizing word? 

Dr. Offit has a financial conflict of interest with vaccines. He holds the co-patent on RotaTeq, Merck's vaccine which made a half a billion dollars last year. And he has a book coming out in September aimed at all of us who believe autism is treatable and that vaccines play a role in the epidemic. Funny how the article neglects to mention that.

"I think that what's so endearing to me about the anti-vaccine people is they're perfectly willing to go from one hypothesis to the next without a backward glance," said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Read the full Yahoo article by AP's Kevin Freking HERE.

Kim Stagliano is Managing Editor of Age of Autism.

AUTISM OMNIBUS PROCEEDING: FAQ'S

By Mary Holland, Esq.

I will be posting summaries of the thimerosal-autism test cases starting May 12.  Below, I provide some answers and links that may be helpful in understanding this unusual proceeding.  My goal is to provide short, objective summaries of testimony every day for those people who do not have the time or inclination to listen to the hearings.  You may still sign up to get audio access to the hearings (HERE).

What is the Omnibus Autism Proceeding?

In 2002, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims’ decided Leroy v. Secretary of HHS and  started the unprecedented “Omnibus Autism Proceeding.”  Read more HERE 

Parents of autistic children had filed thousands of lawsuits around the country in ordinary state and federal courts, in addition to “vaccine court,” arguing that thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative, caused their children’s autism.   Lawyers in ordinary courts argued that they should be able to proceed there, rather than in “vaccine court,” because thimerosal is a vaccine “adulterant” or “contaminant” under federal vaccine law. 

In Leroy, Chief Special Master Golkiewicz decided that because thimerosal is “vaccine-related,” its injuries should be heard first in “vaccine court” according to Congress’ National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Act of 1986. Read more HERE.

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

I’m currently reading the memoir, “All But My Life” by Gerda Weissmann Klein, an account of her survival as a Jewish woman in World War II Poland.  Maybe it’s an unusual choice for the dad of a daughter with autism but it has its attractions for me.

The New York Times praised it as “A moving personal testament to courage” while The Boston Globe wrote that the story was so moving because of “the passion with which she looked through the horror and found a heart-felt and basic goodness in humanity.”

World War II ended sixty-three years ago, eighteen years before I was born.  Ever since I became politically aware I have known the outlines of that conflict. The identity of the good guys and the bad were never in doubt.

The question then becomes, why read such stories at all, if you already know what it’s going to happen?

GET READY TO RUMBLE

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

I am grateful that Theresa Cedillo e-mailed me a few days ago to inform me of the latest Autism Update for the Autism Omnibus Proceeding.

As we get ready for the next round of hearings, scheduled to begin on May 12, 2008 and proceed until May 30 I thought I’d recap what has happened up to this point and what is anticipated in the next few weeks.

Three different theories of causation are being presented by the Petitioners Steering Committee in regards to vaccines and autism.  The first theory is that the MMR vaccine in combination with thimerosal can cause autism.  The second is that thimerosal alone can cause autism.  The third theory is that the MMR vaccine alone can cause autism.

THE "EVER-EXCITABLE" WRITER GETS EXCITED!

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

It’s been said that to know who you really are you need to find out who your enemies are and what they say about you.

With some amusement I recently Googled myself and autism to see what came up.  I found that some claim I’m a “rabid anti-vaccinationist” and one blogger in particular referred to me as “the ever-excitable Kent Heckenlively.”

This particular blogger goes by the screen-name “Hacklehead” and after his nom de guerre has written the following motto, “Crush the liberals, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the hippies.”  I guess he didn’t want people to get him confused with all of those namby-pamby Hackleheads.

UNDERSTANDING SEMMELWEIS

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

Atul Gawande is one of my favorite medical writers.  His two books, “Complications” and “Better – A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance” are practically unrivaled for their combination of compassion, style, and self-examination.

In the essay which opens his second book “Washing Hands” he recounts the story of the Viennese obstetrician Ignac Semmelweis who realized that the doctors who performed both autopsies and deliveries had a far higher rate of mothers dying from infections than did mothers who had their children delivered by midwives.

MERCURY, TESTOSTERONE AND AUTISM - A REALLY BIG IDEA!

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

Professor Simon Baron-Cohen of Cambridge University Research Center created a firestorm of controversy a few years ago with his claim that autism was the result of an “extreme male brain”. 

Dr. Mark Geier and his son David believe Baron-Cohen may be exactly right.  I recently spoke with David Geier about these issues.

According to David Geier, the father-son team first became interested in this question after viewing a poster in which Dr. Boyd Haley showed how the addition of even a small amount of testosterone greatly enhanced the destructive power of mercury.

BETWEEN A VIRUS AND A HORMONE

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

I’m really very ecumenical when it comes to trying to figure how to help my daughter, Jacqueline.  All I want is something that works.

The gluten/casein free diet worked for my son Ben after he went mute for twelve days following the vaccinations at his eighteen month check-up.  He’s seven-years-old now, completely neuro-typical and at the top of his second grade class.  It was this experience which radicalized me on the issue of vaccines and negative neurological reactions.  He has received no further vaccinations.

The gluten/casein free diet didn’t work for my daughter, though, who was already three and a half years into seizures and autism.  That experience taught me there was so much more I need to learn and as a result I’m always interested in new ideas.  What works for one child may not work for another.  But something should work for every child.

AND THE WALL CAME DOWN

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

On August 23, 1989 the government of communist Hungary opened its border with Austria and for the first time since the Iron Curtain had risen more than four decades earlier, citizens of eastern Europe could travel to the west. 

Less than three months later, on November 9th, the government of East Germany decided people could pass through the Berlin Wall, the barrier which had separated the two Germanys for more than 28 years.  On Christmas Day 1991, the Soviet Union which was founded in 1917 and had for more than 70 years proclaimed itself the vanguard of the future, ceased to exist.

In any successful struggle there comes a tipping point when one knows the back of the enemy has been broken.  Retreat and eventual surrender is only a matter of time.  And sometimes that change can come quicker than anybody imagined.

CRY SHAME COMMENTARY ON BRITISH MEDICAL TRIAL

Click HERE to read the most recent coverage of the British medical trial as reported by Cry Shame.

CryShame is a campaigning group co-founded by a number of UK parents and professionals who are concerned about the catastrophic rise in autism spectrum disorders and in the potential link with environmental toxins– particularly MMR and thimerosol (mercury) containing vaccines.

MY FUNNY VIROLOGIST

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

My daughter’s new virologist is a charming man and I think we’re going to be great friends.  He also thinks I’m completely wrong about vaccines and autism, and in my daughter’s case, seizures.

Between the opposing poles of these two statements is the hazy outline of what I believe is an evolving dynamic which is not yet fully understood.

Let me back up a little so you can fully appreciate the story.

About six weeks back I was given the name of a woman who had approached Generation Rescue.  She has a foundation which is working on the theory that the Human Herpes Virus #6 (HHV-6) is the cause of chronic fatigue syndrome.  This woman’s foundation often talked with the world’s top virologists who privately tell her their belief that HHV-6 is also implicated in multiple sclerosis, autism, and seizures.  She didn’t have time to pursue HHV-6 in regards to autism, but thought we should be made aware of the theory.

ASKING FOR HEROES

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

On the night the Polings were to be interviewed by Larry King on CNN I had a problem.  On that same night I’d been asked by the principal of the school at which I'm a science teacher to talk to the PTA about our science program.

I didn’t want to miss this historic interview with the parents of the first child for whom the government conceded that vaccines had “significantly aggravated” her autism, as well as her seizures.  The PTA meeting didn’t actually start until just after the Larry King show ended so I asked the principal if she could open up another classroom with a television so I could watch.

“I’ll join you,” she replied, showing up two minutes before the start of the show, clutching a bag of Taco Bell takeout.  Everybody at school knows I’m an activist about vaccines and autism, but my principal has always been non-committal.  She listens, asks questions, but has never ventured an opinion.

MAJOR AUTISM GROUPS SUPPORT DR. ANDREW WAKEFIELD

BY THE EDITORS

The British Medical Establishment's battle to discredit Andy Wakefield runs into its first major obstacle this week -- Andy Wakefield himself. He begins testimony in his own defense in the proceeding -- we think Inquisition is a much better word -- to pull his medical license after he published a study raising questions (questions, mind you!) about whether the MMR shot led to a GI disorder and regressive autism. He had the temerity to suggest that while we figure it out, it might make sense to separate the measles, mumps and rubella shots. For this outrage, he's already been driven out of England -- thankfully, to the USA. We'll bring you full coverage and news about how you can support him starting with the letter (below) from several major US autism groups. In addition, you can visit www.cryshame.com to learn more.

Wakefield and Colleagues Should Be Knighted, Not Persecuted

U.K. Medical Inquiry Threatens Scientific Inquiry & Progress in Autism

The National Autism Association (NAA), SafeMinds, Unlocking Autism, Generation Rescue, Autism One and Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) wish to express support for Dr. Andrew Wakefield and his colleagues who are unjustly facing a fitness to practice hearing by the General Medical Council (GMC) of the United Kingdom. Dr. Wakefield, a pioneer in autism research and treatment, begins his historic testimony today. The undersigned organizations, along with other U.S. families affected by autism, join in spirit with the U.K. families who are demonstrating today at the GMC offices in London.

The GMC prosecution is a frontal attack on the health and well-being of those around the world who have an autism spectrum disorder.

KENT HECKENLIVELY ON THE AUTISM OMNIBUS PROCEEDING

Everything You Wanted to Know about the Autism Omnibus Proceeding, but Didn’t Know How to Ask

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

As the first three of nine planned test cases have finished and lurch toward a conclusion, I think it’s a good idea to provide the community with an overview of what’s happened, some relevant questions, and what’s planned for the upcoming months.

What’s the structure of the Autism Omnibus Proceeding and how is it different from a traditional trial?

THE SHORT GOOD-BYE: DAY 21 AUTISM OMNIBUS HEARING

The Short Good-Bye – Day Twenty-One of the Autism Omnibus Proceeding – Snyder v. the Secretary of Health and Human Services

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

After 4,665 pages of testimony the first three test cases of a planned nine ended with closing arguments totaling 36 pages. 

As an attorney I have to admit I find something so satisfying about the end of a case when each side is required to do their own summation of the evidence.  If law is the way in which civilized societies resolve their differences rather than armed combat, then at their best, attorneys are our modern warriors. 

Instead of brute force though, they use their brains as well as their hearts, so that the truth may be revealed.

THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

When I was a young attorney I received a piece of advice from an older attorney which I’ve always remembered.

The attorney said, “Whenever you get a new case, begin by asking yourself, what information would I like to have which would convince a court to rule in my favor?”

As the conflict continues about vaccines and autism I think it’s worth considering what information has come to light in the past few weeks and how that information will play in the court of public opinion.

A SCANDAL JUST LIKE ANY OTHER

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

There’s a certain narrative logic to every scandal which generally eludes all those involved.

In stage one, there’s the attempt to cover up damaging information, like you’re stealing the company blind, or covering up the health hazards of your product.  Depending on the skill with which you conceal the information, or how much the law or others will assist you, this can go on for years.

A GREAT AND TERRIBLE DAY

By Kent Heckenlively

There was a moment in the Larry King interview of the Polings in which Hannah Poling stretched up her arm and her mother scratched it for several moments.  It was without doubt an odd television moment, but one I know very well.  Every night as she’s laying down for bed my daughter Jacqueline stretches out her arm and I scratch it for several minutes.

It was great because for the first time I saw a child very much like my own on television, and terrible because I couldn’t help but notice how unusual the child must appear to so many.

DAY TWENTY OF THE AUTISM OMNIBUS PROCEEDING

The Assault on Dr. O’Leary – Day Twenty of the Autism Omnibus Proceeding – Snyder v. the Secretary of Health and Human Services

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

On this last day of testimony the government needed to attack the petitioner’s most compelling piece of evidence; the measles virus RNA found in the cerebral spinal fluid of Colten Snyder and Michelle Cedillo by the Unigenetics Lab of Dr. John O’Leary.

If the questions from Special Master Denise Vowell are any indication, the government is failing in that task.

KENT HECKENLIVELY IS A HUFFPO PICK!

Our own Kent Heckenlively's comment on DK's HuffPo piece HERE was chosen as a HuffPo Pick! Congrats, Kent!

Dear David:

As probably one of the few people who has read and commented on all 4,665 pages of the Autism Omnibus Proceeding I can only say John McCain is responding as any intellectually honest person must when they review this evidence. I have long believed as Lincoln did that when you give the people all the facts, the majority of them will make the right decision.

GOV'T ADMITS VACCINE AUTISM LINK

By Kent Heckenlively

I understand that headline is something we thought we’d never hear, but it’s difficult to come to any other conclusion from recent events.

This is from the document concluding that this child I’ll call “Eve” (pseudonym) is entitled to compensation as determined by medical personnel and the Division of Vaccine Injury Compensation, Department of Health and Human Services.  “DVIC has concluded that the facts of this case meet the statutory criteria for demonstrating that the vaccinations Eve received on July 19, 2000, significantly aggravated an underlying mitochondrial disorder, which predisposed her to deficits in cellular energy metabolism, and manifested as a regressive encephalopathy with features of autism spectrum disorder.”

It’s official.  The sky has fallen.  The fat lady has sung.  Pigs are flying.

FULL TEXT: AUTISM VACCINE CASE

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF FEDERAL CLAIMS OFFICE OF SPECIAL MASTERS

CHILD, a minor, by her Parents and Natural Guardians, MOM & DAD,

Petitioners,

v. 

SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,

Respondent.

RESPONDENT’S RULE 4(c) REPORT
In accordance with RCFC, Appendix B, Vaccine Rule 4(c), the Secretary of Health and
Human Services submits the following response to the petition for compensation filed in this
case.

FACTS
CHILD (“CHILD”) was born on December --, 1998, and weighed eight pounds, ten ounces. Petitioners’ Exhibit (“Pet. Ex.”) 54 at 13. The pregnancy was complicated by gestational diabetes. Id. at 13. CHILD received her first Hepatitis B immunization on December 27, 1998. Pet. Ex. 31 at 2.

From January 26, 1999 through June 28, 1999, CHILD visited the Pediatric Center, in Catonsville, Maryland, for well-child examinations and minor complaints, including fever and eczema. Pet. Ex. 31 at 5-10, 19. During this time period, she received the following pediatric vaccinations, without incident:

Vaccine                       Dates Administered
Hep B                           12/27/98; 1/26/99
IPV                               3/12/99; 4/27/99
Hib                               3/12/99; 4/27/99; 6/28/99
DTaP                            3/12/99; 4/27/99; 6/28/99

Id. at 2.

IT MUST HAVE BEEN THE SPEECH THERAPIST: DAY NINETEEN AUTISM OMNIBUS PROCEEDING

It Must Have Been the Speech Therapist – Day Nineteen of the Autism Omnibus Proceeding – Snyder v. the Secretary of Health and Human Services

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

I keep expecting the defense to come up with convincing evidence that autism has nothing to do with vaccines.

I keep expecting them to provide information which would convince a reasonable person that they understand what’s gone wrong in the brains and bodies of our children.  Maybe it’s because after all this time my mind still subconsciously rebels against the thought that this profession which I’ve long respected has been responsible for such a great tragedy. 

But like a well-connected pillar of the community who can’t explain where he was on the night of his wife’s murder, if this day’s medical testimony from the defense is the best they have, the government’s case is in serious trouble.

WHY WE'LL WIN

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

Did it escape anybody’s attention that at the bottom of the full-page ad placed by Generation Rescue in the Tuesday, February 12, 2008 issue of USA Today that Jim Carrey and Jenny McCarthy were thanked for their generous support?

There comes a time in any successful campaign when a tipping point is reached.  I think that might have happened this past Tuesday.

Consider the people who’ve come over to the side of the angels in the past twelve months.

SUPERBOWL SUNDAY WINNERS

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

Okay, I’ll admit I made a big mistake on Sunday.

I left my brother’s house with my lovely family in tow with about three minutes left to go in the game.  I didn’t expect the New York Giants to make their amazing comeback with 35 seconds on the clock.  I know I missed seeing one of the most unforgettable moments in sports history.

I couldn’t have cared less.

What I did care about was the fact that we arrived at my brother’s house about five hours earlier as a full and intact family with my lovely wife Linda, our normally developing seven-year-old son Ben, and our nine-year-old daughter Jacqueline who has autism and seizures.

DAY EIGHTEEN AUTISM OMNIBUS PROCEEDING

Day of the Doctors – Day Eighteen of the Autism Omnibus Proceeding – Snyder v. the Secretary of Health and Human Services

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

Do you remember how in those cheesy science fictions movies you watched as a kid there were always those scientists who caused the problem and those trying to fix it?

I bring up the science fiction comparison because I’ve spent a good deal of my life trying to understand what makes for a compelling story.  The various genres, from the western, the romance story, the crime saga, the war story, all remain vital because at some level they reflect reality.  Adversity reveals character as my screenwriting teacher used to say.

You start with some dramatic event, say the Nazis invade your country, and try to figure out who would take to the forests to become a partisan?  Who would become a collaborator?  And who would simply sit on the sidelines and let the war pass them by?

ELI STONE -- THE NEW PATRON SAINT OF AUTISM

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

I wish “Eli Stone” a  long and successful run. 

Beginning life just after the season premiere of “Lost”, one of the most engaging shows ever put on television, I applaud the show for its exploration of science and faith.  Like “Lost” it ricochets back and forth between those things which are plausible, and others which seem downright crazy. 

It's also just so damned entertaining!

EXONERATED! HOW ONE GUTSY DOC TOLD THE TRUTH...

...and lived to tell about it.

Editor's Note: Our good friend Sandy Gottstein at Vaccination News  sent us this link (see below), in which British physician Dr. Jayne L.M. Donegan tells the extraordinary story of the misconduct accusations brought against her for her testimony in a vaccine trial. This is a long account but well worth reading to the ending -- which is a lot happier than we're used to lately. Here's hoping it sets a precedent for Andy Wakefield's inquisition. We can't resist pointing out this comment from Dr. Donegan: "It is notable that under cross examination on Day Two, Dr Elliman was forced to concede, that there have been no randomised placebo controlled trials of any of the vaccines in use in the last 20 to 30 years where vaccinated children are compared with unvaccinated children given an inactive placebo (sterile water or normal saline).

In the one placebo controlled trial that he cited for MMR, the 'placebo' contained, amongst other ingredients, neomycin and phenol red.  Neomycin is listed in the British National Formulary as 'too toxic for parenteral (by injection) use'.  Evidence for the safety and efficacy of all these vaccines come from epidemiological studies which are by nature controversial, and which do not satisfy the criteria for scientific proof."

HERE's the link.

DAY SEVENTEEN AUTISM OMNIBUS TRIAL

The Return of a Lost Child – Day Seventeen of the Autism Omnibus Proceeding – Snyder v. the Secretary of Health and Human Services

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

An anonymous child falls down a well in an anonymous American town and suddenly the entire country is transfixed by the rescue effort.

Why do we care about somebody we never heard of before this event?

I think it’s because we like to know what’s possible for human beings when confronted by terrible dangers.  A child has vanished from the surface of the earth.  Can he be rescued?  We want to know what humans beings can accomplish when they are at their best. 

The tale of Colten Snyder is one of those stories.

THE HAZELHURST CASE: AUTISM OMNIBUS PROCEEDING TEST CASE 2

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq. and Legal Editor

Mom worked as a representative for a pharmaceutical company for more than ten years.  Dad is an attorney.  Grandpa was a gastro-enterologist, who when his grandson Yates began to exhibit signs of digestive problems was able to get him seen by one of the top gastro-enterologists in the country, Dr. Tim Buie of Harvard University.

These are the people who, according to lead government attorney Vincent Matanoski, were taken in by Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s malevolent scientific fraud in which he intended to panic the world in order to create a market for the measles-only virus in which he had a patent.

Which group made a better argument?

SMART PEOPLE WITH NO ANSWERS: DAY 15 AUTISM OMNIBUS PROCEEDING

Smart People with No Answers – Day Fifteen of the Autism Omnibus Proceeding – Hazlehurst v. the Secretary of Health and Human Services

By Kent Heckenlively, Esq.

When I was in college I spent a summer working for a United States Senator about whom it was said, “he could explain the inner workings of a watch, but couldn’t tell you the time of day.” 

When the Senator ran for President he ended up dead last among the candidates in his party and probably only the most die-hard political junkies even recall he once made a run at the Oval Office.

In the testimony of Dr. Robert Rust I was reminded of my old boss, who could explain the intricacies of a watch, but had trouble telling the time of day.