By Bill Welsh
March 16, 2010
I was reminded recently of the old joke, Question: What is the difference
between God and a doctor?
Answer: God does not think he is a doctor!
This reverie occurred during a lull in a Radio Scotland broadcast where I had
been invited to spar with a medical practitioner re (1) the recent GMC verdict
in the ‘trial’ of Dr Wakefield, and (2) the MMR/bowel disease/autism
controversy. My medical practitioner combatant was a particularly contrary and
obstinate soul whom I suspect was a reluctant participant probably having been
corralled into attending the live transmission at the last minute. He arrived at
the studio with the usual bucketful of ill-informed assumptions plus half-truths
gleaned lazily from pharma-backed medical journals and the tabloid press.
The broadcast followed the normal pattern with first the doctor’s reading of
the situation countered by mine. None of this would I suspect make riveting
listening to your casual mid-morning radio attendee but it fills space for the
broadcaster and gives campaigners like me the opportunity to challenge the
orthodox view. What did surprise me however was how my blustering antagonist
continued to voice opinions and views that have been answered and countered
repeatedly over time. It is as if there is a determination by the medical
profession to re-position misinformation and downright lies into folk-lore. Was
it Mark Twain who said “A lie can be half-way round the world before the truth
has got its boots on”? Well current medical/pharma philosophy appears to be ‘If
we keep saying the lie often enough, it will become truth’.
Here are just four examples from the radio programme:
1)“The Lancet study was too small, there were only 12 children”.
Not true. The report in the Lancet was on the FIRST 12 children. The addendum to
the paper says:
''Up to Jan 28, a further 40 patients have been assessed; 39 with the syndrome'.
(Hundreds more followed of course.)
2) “The GMC concluded MMR was safe and unconnected to bowel disease and
autism”
Not true. The GMC chairman stated: “The panel wish to make it clear that this
case is not concerned with whether there is or might be any link between the MMR
vaccination and autism”.
3) “Dr Wakefield showed a ‘callous disregard for the safety of the
children’ when he carried out colonoscopies”
Not true. Dr Wakefield did not carry out colonoscopies. The ‘callous
disregard’ quote from the GMC chairman was referring to the birthday party
episode.
4) “It is only in the UK that there is concern about MMR vaccine safety”
Not true: This is especially galling for those of us who have many friends
worldwide who are equally involved and concerned about MMR. Perhaps the medicos
will next try to somehow dis-invent the internet?
I checked Dr Jacquelyn McCandless’s wonderful on-line petition initiative in
support of Dr Wakefield and counted the countries that posted from outside the
UK and the USA (I think every US state had subscribers).
I will list the countries:
Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech
Republic, Dominican Republic, Federated States of Micronesia, France, Germany,
Greece, Honduras, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Israel. Japan, Korea,
Macedonia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Portugal,
Puerto Rico, Romania, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland.
Think about that. Think about the number of countries. Think about the number of
children. Think about your own experience. Think about the distress, the pain,
the family breakdown, the disruption, the sleepless nights, the misery, the
tears, the unforgiving and unforgivable damage that has been done to God knows
how many kids worldwide, and is continuing to be done as you read this article;
All in the name of what?--child health, herd immunity? Don’t you believe it,
this is done in the name of greed.
These innocent children (our innocent children) are caught in a labyrinthine
trap guarded by three minatory creatures. Firstly the vaccine manufacturers; who
cannot go backwards, only forward, driven by their profit motive; you can be
certain that there will be even more greed in even more countries to follow, and
even more damaged children; there is no reverse gear in a capitalist juggernaut.
Next, the second creature, those who administer the vaccines, (the medical
profession), the very soul of that profession has been auctioned to the greed
machine: holidays in exotic locations, flimsily invented but fully funded
conferences around the world (“would your wife like to accompany you”? You bet),
bonuses and incentives for administering a product that has not only not been
adequately tested but is downright dangerous; injecting it directly into a
child’s bloodstream and then turning and walking away from that child when
he/she screams in pain and falls ill.
Last but not least, minatory politicians, the cowards in the pack; shamefully
ignoring the overwhelming and compelling evidence of parents in favour of the
greed machine and its apostles: Cowering in publicly funded mansions avoiding
contact with the challenging truth of their constituent’s concerns and
experience for fear it may disrupt the funding system or alienate the greed
machine which has itself insinuated its way into positions of influence in the
highest reaches of government.
Parents have arrived at an important juncture in the MMR debate. We can either
pack up and go home to nurse our damaged children in the knowledge that the
people responsible for visiting this grievous blow on our families will carry on
in their pursuit of personal wealth and recognition at the expense of more
innocent children worldwide -- or we can decide here and now that enough is
enough.
Bill Welsh
President
Autism Treatment Trust
Edinburgh.
Scotland.
UK