January 29, 2008
AAP Calls for Cancellation of Fictional TV Episode With Vaccine/Autism Link

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has called on the ABC network to cancel an episode of the program “Eli Stone”scheduled to air Thursday this week, because the episode features a lawsuit in which attorneys for parents argue successfully that vaccines caused their child’s autism. Airing the program could result in a “tragic decline in immunization rates” with possible serious consequences to the health of America’s children, the AAP said. In a January 25 letter to the president of the Disney-ABC Television Group and the creators and executives of the “Eli Stone” program, the AAP noted that parents often trust the health information presented on fictional television shows. If the program airs, the ABC “will bear responsibility for the needless suffering and potential death of children from parental decisions not to immunize based on the content of the episode,” the letter said. The AAP urged that if a decision is made to go ahead with airing the episode, the network should include a disclaimer that no mercury is used as a preservative in routinely offered childhood vaccines and no scientific link exists between vaccines and autism.