The Panic Virus
Page 39
/index.html#clarification. See also: “Note,” “Clarification,” and “Correction,” RollingStone.com, n.d., http://www.webcitation.org/5glaWmdym, previously available at http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/
7395411/deadly_immunity/.
226 “It is important to note”: “Kennedy Report Sparks Controversy,” Rollingstone.com, July 14, 2005, previously available at http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/7483530
/kennedy_report_sparks_controv.
226 Kennedy told MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough: Joe Scarborough, “A Coverup for a Cause of Autism?,” Morning Joe, MSNBC, July 21, 2005, transcript, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8243264/.
CHAPTER 19: AUTISM SPEAKS
PAGE
228 both groups had been relatively open-minded: National Alliance for Autism Research, “National Association for Autism Research: Committed to Accelerating Biomedical Autism Research to Unlock the Mysteries of Autism Spectrum Disorders,” The Exceptional Parent, April 2002, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_go2827
/is_4_32/ai_n7046769/; “About Cure Autism Now,” Cure Autism Now, n.d., http://web.archive.org/web/20020210150114
/www.cureautismnow.org/aboutcan/aboutcan.cfm.
229 which Liz Birt founded: Kirby, Evidence of Harm, 85.
229 which began when Lisa Ackerman: Sam Miller, “Autism Is Treatable, She Insists; O.C. Mother Leads Uprising Against Accepted Views,” Orange County Register, July 2, 2008, A1.
229 which was started by parents named Teri and Ed Arranga: “About Us,” AutismOne, n.d., http://www.autismone.org/content/about-us.
229 and the National Autism Association: “About Us: National Autism Association Inc.,” Facebook, n.d., http://apps.facebook.com/causes/beneficiaries/349/info.
229 as Eric London puts it: Eric London, interview with author, April 7, 2010.
229 when London wrote a critique: Eric London, “The ABCs of MMRs and DTPs,” Narrative, Summer/Fall 1998.
230 “I said, Look, there’s room”: Eric London, interview with author, April 7, 2010.
230 when The New England Journal of Medicine published: Madsen et al., “A Population-Based Study of MMR Vaccination and Autism.”
230 NAAR was accused of shilling: F. Edwards Yazbak, “Epidemiological Autism Studies: Why Parents of Children with Autism Are So Upset!,” November 19, 2002, http://www.autismautoimmunityproject.org/upset.html.
230 Much was made of the fact: National Association for Autism Research, “Pharmaceutical Industry and NAAR—The Truth About NAAR’s Relationship with the Pharmaceutical Industry and Vaccine Research Focusing on Autism,” Autism Speaks, March 11, 2003, http://www.autismspeaks.org/inthenews/naar_
archive/pharmaceutical_industry_naar.php. See also: National Association for Autism Research, “The Limited Support NAAR Has Received from Pharmaceutical Companies That Make Childhood Vaccines,” Autism Speaks, March 3, 2003, http://www.autismspeaks.org/docs/pharmachartvacc.pdf.
230 Eventually, the attacks became so fierce: Ibid.
230 its Autism Tissue Program: “Autism Tissue Program: About the Program—Overview,” Autism Speaks, n.d., http://www.autismtissueprogram.org/site/
c.nlKUL7MQIsG/b.5183785/k.E3D8/Overview.htm.
231 “He developed typically”: Katie Wright, interview with author, July 27, 2010.
231 “He was having ten bowel movements”: Ibid.
231 When the pain got especially bad: David Kirby, “David Kirby Interviews Katie Wright!,” Foundation for Autism Information and Research, April 19, 2007, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUNO25l1zFs, dHY5K_MP7w, +TVoJIVqu2Q, and I_IPuYf98uF.
231 “They didn’t connect them”: Katie Wright, interview with author, July 27, 2010.
232 “Too many parents go to bed each night”: Suzanne Wright, “Willing the World to Listen,” Newsweek, February 27, 2005.
232 From the outset, the Wrights made clear: Jane Gross and Stephanie Strom, “Debate over Cause of Autism Strains a Family and Its Charity,” The New York Times, June 18, 2007, A1.
232 That November, NAAR merged with the new charity: Autism Speaks, “Autism Speaks and NAAR Announce Plans to Combine Operations,” November 30, 2005.
232 Within a year, a similar “consolidation”: Autism Speaks, “CAN and Autism Speaks Announce Plans to Combine Operations,” November 29, 2006.
232 Statements detailing the moves: Autism Speaks, “Autism Speaks and NAAR Complete Merger,” February 13, 2006; Autism Speaks, “Autism Speaks and CAN Complete Merger,” February 5, 2007.
233 Sallie Bernard . . . made sure to signal: Autism Speaks, “Autism Speaks and CAN Complete Merger.”
233 Eric London struck an equally independent note: Ibid.
233 at a high-profile fund-raiser: Gross and Strom, “Debate over Cause of Autism Strains a Family and Its Charity.”
233 “The child I knew”: Katie Wright, interview with author, July 27, 2010.
234 Katie’s mother met Jane Johnson: Ibid.
234 In January 2006, Krigsman performed: Kirby, “David Kirby Interviews Katie Wright!”
234 “He was the first doctor who really understood”: Katie Wright, interview with author, July 27, 2010.
234 Krigsman’s proposed treatment: Kirby, “David Kirby Interviews Katie Wright!”
235 one government-funded trial: Trine Tsouderos and Patricia Callahan, “Autism’s Risky Experiments; Some Doctors Claim They Can Successfully Treat Children, But the Alternative Therapies Lack Scientific Proof,” Chicago Tribune, November 22, 2009, 1.
235 Krigsman’s problems dated to 2001: Transcript of record, Cedillo v. Sec’y of Health and Human Services, 498–500, 558–60.
235 Krigsman’s difficulties with medical authorities: Ibid., 501–03; Cedillo v. Sec’y of Health and Human Services, 138; Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, “Agreed Licensure Order for the Application of Arthur Charles Krigsman,” September 16, 2005, http://www.casewatch.org/board/med/
krigsman/complaint.shtml.
235 When finally he was permitted: Ibid.
236 In February 2004, The Times (London): Brian Deer, “MMR: The Truth Behind the Crisis,” The Sunday Times (London), February 22, 2004, 12.
236 The most shocking revelation: Brian Deer, “Revealed: The First Wakefield MMR Patent Claim Describes ‘Safer Measles Vaccine,’ ” Brian Deer, n.d., http://www.briandeer.com/wakefield/vaccine-patent.htm.
236 as one member of the British Parliament put it: Brian Deer, “Evan Harris Calls for Inquiry in Commons Debate About MMR Children’s Treatment,” Brian Deer, n.d., http://www.briandeer.com/mmr/lancet-commons.htm.
236 ten of Wakefield’s twelve co-authors: Simon Murch et al., “Retraction of an Interpretation,” The Lancet 2004;363(9411): 747–49.
236 “If we had known the conflict of interest”: Oliver Wright, Nigel Hawkes, and Sam Lister, “Lancet Criticises MMR Scientist Who Raised Alarm, The Times (London), February 21, 2004.
236 the General Medical Council: Brian Deer, “Key Ally of MMR Doctor Rejects Autism Link,” The Sunday Times (London), March 7, 2004, 1.
236 That December, the council formally announced: Brian Deer, “Doctors in MMR Scare Face Public Inquiry,” The Sunday Times (London), December 12, 2004, 5.
237 In 2005, the GMC released: Brian Deer, “MMR Scare Doctor Faces List of Charges,” The Sunday Times (London), September 11, 2005, 13.
237 embody the qualities that David Aaronovitch: David Aaronovitch, “A Conspiracy-Theory Theory,” Wall Street Journal, December 19, 2009. See also: David Aaronovitch, Voodoo Histories (New York: Riverhead, 2010).
237 “I have [already] lost my job”: Carole Caplin, “Why Is No One Allowed to Question MMR?,” The Daily Mail (London), February 29, 2004.
238 In 2004, with the help: Mary Ann Roser, “Charting a Different Course on Autism,” Austin American-Statesman, May 4, 2008, A1.
238 “We tried the diet”: Katie Wright, interview with author, July 27, 2010.
CHAPTER 20: KATIE WRIGHT’S ACCIDENTAL MANIFESTO
&
nbsp; PAGE
239 a new thread was started on Yahoo!’s EOHarm: B. J. Blacker, “REPOSTING—PLEASE!!! direct me to source thanks,” EOHarm Yahoo! group, March 26, 2007, http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/EOHarm
/message/47586.
239 If they are utilizing bio-medical treatments: Andrea, “Re: REPOSTING—PLEASE!!! direct me to source thanks,” EOHarm Yahoo! group, March 27, 2007, http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/EOHarm
/message/47635.
240 “Remember when Katie backed out”: Andrea, “Re: REPOSTING—PLEASE!!! direct me to source thanks,” EOHarm Yahoo! group, March 27, 2007, http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/EOHarm
/message/47638.
240 “What you all should be asking is”: Holly Bortfeld, “Re: REPOSTING—PLEASE!!! direct me to source thanks,” EOHarm Yahoo! group, March 27, 2007, http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/EOHarm
/message/47636.
240 “I can completely understand”: Katie Wright, “katie wright,” EOHarm Yahoo! group, March 27, 2007, http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/group
/EOHarm/message/47643.
241 “Why must we mince words”: Henry Coleman, “Re: katie wright,” EOHarm Yahoo! group, March 27, 2007, http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/group
/EOHarm/message/47657.
241 By treating their grandson: askotnicki28, “Re: katie wright,” EOHarm Yahoo! group, March 27, 2007, http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/group
/EOHarm/message/47674.
241 Who’s side of the fence are you on?: Lori, “Re: katie wright,” EOHarm Yahoo! group, March 27, 2007, http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/group
/EOHarm/message/47703.
242 “Do you believe your son was damaged by vaccines?”: Lori, “Re: katie wright,” EOHarm Yahoo! group, March 27, 2007, http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/group
/EOHarm/message/47667.
242 “I did not mean to be evasive”: Katie Wright, “environmental factors,” EOHarm Yahoo! group, March 28, 2007, http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/group
/EOHarm/message/47726.
242 The following day, David Kirby: David Kirby, “Autism Speaks: Will Anyone Listen?,” The Huffington Post, March 28, 2007, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirby/autism-speaks-will-anyone_b_44414.html.
243 He failed to mention that the last doses: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Timeline: Thimerosal in Vaccines (1999–2008), n.d., http://cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/thimerosal
/thimerosal_timeline.html.
243 His claim that two recently published genetic studies: Peter Szatmari, “Mapping Autism Risk Loci Using Genetic Linkage and Chromosomal Rearrangements,” Nature Genetics 2007;39: 319–28; “Scientists Confirm Genetic Distinction Between Heritable and Sporadic Cases of Autism,” Science Daily, March 21, 2007.
244 On April 5, Katie Wright and Alison Singer: Oprah Winfrey, “The Faces of Autism,” The Oprah Winfrey Show, Harpo Productions, April 5, 2007.
244 seven million American viewers every day: Ann Oldenburg, “$7M Car Giveaway Stuns TV Audience,” USA Today, September 13, 2004.
244 broadcast in 140 countries: Michael Conlon, “Oprah Throws Party for U.S. Olympic Medalists,” Reuters, September 3, 2008.
244 “They were pretty clear”: Alison Singer, interview with author, May 15, 2009.
244 “be a big girl and step it up”: Holly Bortfeld, “Re: REPOSTING—PLEASE!!! direct me to source thanks,” EOHarm Yahoo! group, March 27, 2007, http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/
EOHarm/message/47644.
244 “I hear you wanted to say something about vaccines”: Alison Singer, interview with author, May 15, 2009.
244 When they came back on the air: Winfrey, “The Faces of Autism.”
245 There had been studies showing vaccines were safe: Madsen et al., “A Population-Based Study of Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Vaccination and Autism.” See also: Verstraeten et al., “Safety of Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines: A Two-Phased Study of Computerized Health Maintenance Organization Databases.”
245 which was six more than what she’d claimed: Katie Wright, “environmental factors.”
245 Even if you counted the MMR vaccine and the DPT vaccine: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Recommended Immunization Schedule for Persons Aged 0 Through 18 Years,” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, January 2, 2009, 57(51&52), Q-1, Q-4.
245 Shortly after the interview began: Kirby, “David Kirby Interviews Katie Wright!”
246 the statements she made during the post-screening: Ginger Taylor, “Katie Wright Speaks for Me!,” Adventures in Autism, June 2, 2007, http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2007/06/katie-wright-speaks-for-me.html.
246 “I’d just grown very frustrated”: Katie Wright, interview with author, July 27, 2010.
247 “We didn’t realize that Katie”: Eric London, interview with author, April 7, 2010.
247 Katie Wright is not a spokesperson for Autism Speaks: Bob and Suzanne Wright, “Statement from Bob and Suzanne Wright, Co-founders of Autism Speaks,” Autism Speaks, n.d., http://www.autismspeaks.org/wrights_statement.php.
247 a gossip column on foxnews.com: Roger Friedman, “Celebrity Autism Group in Civil War,” foxnews.com, June 7, 2007, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,278814,00.html.
247 to the front page of The New York Times: Gross and Strom, “Autism Debate Strains a Family and Its Charity.”
247 “My daughter feels very strongly”: Bob Wright, interview with author, September 2, 2010.
248 an entry on the Age of Autism blog: Katie Wright, “Why the Autism Speaks Scientific Advisory Committee Needs to Resign,” Age of Autism, April 26, 2010, http://www.ageofautism.com/2010/04/why-the-autism-speaks-scientific-advisory-committee-needs-to-resign.html.
248 Alison Singer resigned: Press release, Autism Speaks, “Autism Speaks Withdraws Support for Strategic Plan for Autism Research,” January 15, 2009, http://www.autismspeaks.org/press/autism_
speaks_withdraws_support_for_strategic_plan.php.
248 Five months later, Eric London resigned: Autism Science Foundation, “NAAR Founder, Dr. Eric London, Resigns from Autism Speaks,” June 30, 2009, http://www.autismsciencefoundation.org/ericlondon.html.
CHAPTER 21: JENNY MCCARTHY’S MOMMY INSTINCT
PAGE
249 she was crowned the magazine’s Playmate of the Year: Playboy, June 1994.
249 when MTV hired her to co-host: “Singled Out,” Internet Movie Database, n.d., http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112164/.
249 That year, she appeared on two more Playboy covers: Playboy, July 1996; Playboy, December 1996.
249 In 1997, she had two eponymous shows: J. Beveridge, “Pretty Penny for Jenny,” The Sunday Mail (Queensland, Australia), September 21, 1997, 102.
250 was paid $1.3 million by HarperCollins: Ibid.
250 Jenny tanked: Ellen Gray, “McCarthy Bares Soul in Autobiography,” The Charlotte Observer, November 5, 1997, 6e.
250 In 1999, she married an actor: Janet Mock and Julia Wang, “Celebrity Central: Jenny McCarthy,” People.com, n.d., http://www.people.com/people/jenny_mccarthy.
250 In 2004, she released Belly Laughs: Jenny McCarthy, Belly Laughs (Cambridge: Da Capo, 2004).
250 Her next book, 2005’s Baby Laughs: Jenny McCarthy, Baby Laughs (New York: Dutton, 2005).
250 In his zero star write-up: Roger Ebert, “‘Dirty Love’ Is So Scummy It Can’t Even Be Called Bad,” Ventura County Star, September 23, 2005, 5.
250 Even Life Laughs, the third book: Jenny McCarthy, Life Laughs (New York: Dutton, 2006).
251 “You’re an Indigo”: Jenny McCarthy, “A Mother’s Awakening,” IndigoMoms.com, June 2006, http://web.archive.org/web/
20061019001706/indigomoms.com/jenny0606.html.
251 a group of spiritually advanced children: Meg Blackburn Losey, The Children of Now: Crystalline Children, Indigo Children, Star Kids, Angels on Earth, and the Phenomenon of Transitional Children (Franklin Lakes, New Jersey: New Page, Press 2006).
251 Parents of Crystals recognize each: Kabir J
affe and Ritama Davidson, Indigo Adults (Lincoln, Indiana: iuniverse.com, 2005).
251 “[that] things in my life started to make sense”: McCarthy, “A Mother’s Awakening.”
251 “The reason why I was drawn to Indigo”: Jenny McCarthy, “Question to Jenny,” IndigoMoms.com, August 3, 2006, http://web.archive.org/web/20061026234851
/www.indigomoms.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=122.
251 That summer, McCarthy launched: IndigoMoms.com, n.d., http://web.archive.org/web/20061203045246
/www.indigomoms.com/index2.html.
251 and an e-commerce section: “Resources,” IndigoMoms.com, n.d., http://web.archive.org/web/20061112124412
/www.indigomoms.com/resources.html.
252 In 2005, McCarthy contacted Lisa Ackerman: Lisa Ackerman, “TACA and Jenny McCarthy,” October 5, 2008, http://www.tacanow.org/jenny/jenny-mccarthy-autism.htm.
252 Shortly thereafter, McCarthy told Ackerman: Miller, “Autism Is Treatable, She Insists.”
252 in stark contrast to the Crystal Child one: Jay Leno, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, NBC, April 21, 2006.
252 Now, McCarthy said, her mistreatment: Jenny McCarthy, Louder than Words (New York: Dutton, 2007).
252 “I say, Okay, let’s look at your choices”: Jenny McCarthy, interview with author, March 6, 2009.
252 True to her word, on September 18, 2007: Oprah Winfrey, “Mothers Battle Autism,” The Oprah Winfrey Show, Harpo Productions, September 18, 2007.
252 That afternoon, with Lisa Ackerman looking on: Miller, “Autism Is Treatable, She Insists.”
253 her latest journey had begun with a flash: Winfrey, “Mothers Battle Autism.”
253 “taking away all the beautiful characteristics”: IndigoMoms.com, n.d., http://web.archive.org/web/20061026234851
/www.indigomoms.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=122.
253 First thing I did—Google: Winfrey, “Mothers Battle Autism.”
256 One fan asked McCarthy: “Q&A with Jenny McCarthy,” Oprah.com, September 18, 2007, http://www.oprah.com/relationships/Questions-About-Autism.
256 McCarthy had repeated her story: Larry King, “Interview with Jenny McCarthy,” Larry King Live, CNN, September 26, 2007; “A Mother’s Journey: Star Fights for Son,” Good Morning America, ABC, September 24, 2007.