Arizona Nutritional Supplements Lawsuits Articles & Resources

James Adams, PhD, professor of chemical and materials engineering at Arizona State University, reported on three studies. His research found nutritional differences in autistic children and suggests that supplements of iodine, lithium, chromium, and potassium should be investigated as possible treatments.

While parents and researchers search for effective treatments for late-onset autism, rates continue to soar. According to Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN), "Fifteen years ago, one in every 10,000 children in America was autistic. Today, the Journal of the American Medical Association indicates that ratio may actually be as high as one in every 150 children."

In California, autism has reached epidemic proportions. On May 7, 2003, the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) issued a report on autism in California. "Autistic Spectrum Disorders, Changes in the California Caseload: 1999-2002" is based on data of persons served by the DDS and professionally diagnosed with full-syndrome autism. The report shows that California's autism population nearly doubled in four years (1999-2002), from 10,360 to 20,377 persons. This increase does not include children younger than three or persons classified with other autistic spectrum disorders, such as PPD or Asperger's syndrome. Between December 31, 1997, and December 31, 2002, the population of persons with full-syndrome autism that was served by the DDS increased 664 percent.

"We know that genes alone cannot create epidemics," states Rick Rollens, cofounder of the University of California, Davis's Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute (MIND) and Families for Early Autism Treatment (FEAT). Some scientists believe that autistic children represent a subpopulation that cannot effectively excrete mercury from their bodies and are therefore very susceptible to the toxic ethyl-mercury exposure presented during routine childhood vaccines. Although 53 percent of the mothers of autistic children are Rh-negative, these women constitute only 3 percent of the population of mothers. In addition, the mothers of autistic children are 60 percent more likely to have eaten fish regularly during pregnancy and 20 percent more likely to have had mercury fillings during pregnancy. Autistic children are also more likely to have had oral antibiotics than children who are not autistic.

While government officials continue to deny any connection between vaccines and autism, vaccine manufacturers pressure lawmakers to limit their liability. The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), established by Congress in 1986 under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, has recently been under review by Congress. The VICP was originally intended to be a no-fault, nonadversarial alternative to lawsuits. Since its inception, the VICP has received 8,237 vaccine injury claims, of which 3,854 claims have been dismissed and 2,585 are pending; 1,798 individuals have been granted awards, for a total compensation of $ billion. Of the 8,237 claims filed, 4,261 were for vaccine injuries--primarily from the whole-cell pertussis component of the DPT vaccine--that occurred before 1988. The average compensation is just under $1 million. Currently, more than $ billion remains unused in the VICP trust fund.

Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) reached an agreement on current revisions to the VICP before the spring recess in April. The National Vaccine Information Center, the coalition Americans for Vaccine Safety and Accountability (comprising the Autism Society of America, Lyme Disease Foundation, New Hampshire Citizens for Health Freedom, Parents Requesting Open Vaccine Education or PROVE, Unlocking Autism, and the World Chiropractic Alliance), and other advocacy organizations, such as SafeMinds, worked hard for inclusive legislative language. The bill was scheduled for legislative "markup" on April 9, 2003, but was abruptly canceled by Judd Gregg (R-NH), chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, reportedly because of pressure from the vaccine industry.

After weeks of negotiations among advocates for the vaccine-injured and members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and within moments of announcing a compromise, the VICP bill was tabled. According to an April 9, 2003, article on .com, "A Democratic aide, who asked not to be identified, said that Merck and Wyeth, two of the four major vaccine manufacturers, opposed the compromise as being too generous to families. They wanted a stricter statute of limitations. The aide added that lobbyists for vaccine manufacturers Aventis and Eli Lilly supported the compromise."

During the last year, three surreptitious legislative attempts have been made to protect Eli Lilly from liability for thimerosal in childhood vaccines. Outraged parents demanded that legislators remove the "Lilly rider" from the Homeland Security Act, and this was accomplished in January 2003 with the passage of the Omnibus Appropriation Bill. However, a provision in this bill required that the VICP be reviewed during the first six months of 2003.

The parents of vaccine-injured children want all vaccine-injured children to be compensated and are asking that the statute of limitations for compensation claims be extended from three to six years because many vaccine-injured children are not diagnosed until after three years of age. In addition, parents want a one-year window of opportunity so that children whose vaccine injuries have occurred since 1988 can apply for federal compensation. Finally, parents want to retain the right to sue.

Vaccine manufacturers, on the other hand, want to keep the statute of limitations to three years and want no liability for vaccine injuries and deaths that have occurred in the past. According to parents of vaccine-injured children, the manufacturers' ultimate goal is to cut off all liability for past and future vaccine injuries, leaving the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program as the only alternative for the vaccine-injured.