Tivo has taken me even further out of the loop. Because I no longer see commercials, I have no idea who is going to be on Oprah this week of what new movies are coming out. I had no idea that Johnny Lee Miller was going to be making a foray into American television, or that the unaired pilot for the show is already causing a big controversy, until I did a google search for autism news today and found the following article by Julie Deardorff, a medical writer for the Chicago Tribune:
Eli Stone: It's not about autism
Unlike officials at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and many pro-vaccination bloggers, I've had a chance to watch the entire pilot episode of ABC's fictional comedy/drama "Eli Stone."
The already controversial program, which debuts Thursday at 9 p.m. and subjects viewers to fanciful scenes involving pop singer George Michael, depicts a lawyer who argues in court that a mercury-based preservative in a flu vaccine made a child autistic.
The AAP, after watching a seven-minute trailer of the show and reading media reports, was so outraged a sacred cow had been attacked that it demanded that ABC cancel the episode. Ironically, the move is drawing even more attention to the show.
While the program includes statements that science has refuted any link between autism and vaccines, the AAP complained that "the episode's conclusion delivers a contrary impression; the jury awards the mother $5.2 million, leaving audiences with the destructive idea that vaccines do cause autism."
I disagree.
For starters, the AAP ought to give television viewers a little more credit. Like most television, it's a show that is meant to be entertainment. Will we, for example, really believe Eli Stone is a prophet who hears songs by George Michael every time he has a vision?
Moreover, the autism in the story line is almost incidental given all the other loopy things that are packed into the pilot. It's not about whether vaccines cause autism. It's about the redemptive powers of faith. What the episode's conclusion really asks is: Which is the greater force in life: science or faith?
If the AAP had watched the whole program (or scanned the Web site), it might have seen that Eli Stone's brother, the doctor who diagnoses Eli's brain aneurysm represents science. Stone's acupuncturist friend, Dr. Chen, embodies faith.
And as Dr. Chen tells Eli,
"Everything has two explanations: scientific and divine. We choose which one to believe."
This is how the autism-vaccine debate is playing out. The majority of parents dutifully vaccinate their children without giving it a second thought. Parents who are concerned about the safety of vaccines have already made up their minds. It won't matter how many studies show there is no link between vaccines and autism. We all believe our own truths.
Vaccines can be life-saving, but like any medical procedure, they carry risks, even if autism is not "officially" one of them. The one-size-fits-all approach means it's up to every individual to get educated on vaccine safety and to consider benefits versus risks.
I applaud ABC for trying to keep the conversation going once the television has been turned off.
Ah, yes, faith. I remember faith. It is what I had in the AMA and the AAP 4 years ago. I had heard horror stories about vaccines causing autism, and they scared me. In the end I decided to have faith in the my doctors and the medical community, held my breath and prayed that it would be ok. I have no idea if vaccines caused Bear's autism. There has been no proof of that. Then again, nobody seems to know what causes autism. There are only a lot of theories.
Thumper has his 1 year appointment coming up, and again I have to weigh the pros and cons of another needle stick. Again, I am being asked to take it on faith that more vaccinations will do more good than harm. I don't know if I have that much faith left in me.
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