midnightinchicagoEver since Andrew Wakefield put forth his hypothesis that mercury and thimerosal in vaccines causes Autism, the disproved theory has become the banner for a segment of the population. These conspiracy theorists can be heard on any given day arguing that the large pharmaceutical companies are in cahoots with the governments of the world to keep the ‘truth’ from the rest of the world.
As the daughter of a renowned research scientist, I have approached everything in life in a methodical and logical manner, whether we’re talking Autism and its causes or locating the best ingredients at the best prices for making a superlative meal. And this is how I have researched Autism over the years.
I can remember my father’s war cry, “Correlation does not imply causation” ringing in my ears and rightly so. Just because two incidents happen at the same time does not mean they impact on each other in any meaningful way. After all, we all know that the number of drownings increases during the warmer months as does the sale of ice cream. We certainly would never claim that ice cream is the cause of drowning. So why do some people continue to claim that mercury and thimerosal cause Autism when countless studies have disproved this theory?
It’s human nature to want to find someone or something to blame when unexpected negative things happen in life. It eases the burden of having to deal with situations we would otherwise prefer not have in our lives.
Blaming mercury or thimerosal in vaccines, however, won’t change the facts as they pertain to Autism. I have heard a number of anti-vaccine militants argue that children become Autistic once they receive the MMR vaccine. This is the basis of their claim.
Up until 1992, there was mercury in latex paints. Light switches and thermostats in older homes have mercury in them. The new-fangled curly-cue light bulbs in homes and offices all have mercury in them (the older ‘bulbs’ that are being phased out do not). Computer monitors, save for the newest Apple computers that are marketed as being mercury-free, all have mercury in them.
North Americans love mercury so much, we even named a car after it!
So if there’s an Autism epidemic going on around the world and if that epidemic is caused by mercury, it took its sweet time getting into high gear as mercury has been in homes, offices and schools for decades now and long before the prevalence of Autism became 1 in 166.
And if anyone’s asking, mercury and thimerosal were removed from all childhood vaccines in North America a decade ago. In fact, childhood vaccines manufactured a decade ago became stale dated a number of years ago.
Elyse Bruce
Founder and Creator
MIDNIGHT IN CHICAGO
