Photograph: Hannah & her parents Jon & Terry (from: Atlanta Journal Constitution)
In November 2006 a secret (at that time) decision by the US Courts of Federal Claims conceded that vaccination was the cause of autism in a specific case. The ruling was made by US Assistant Attorney General Peter Keisler.
Hannah Pohling, daughter of a physician Jon, and his registered nurse/attorney wife Terry, received 9 vaccinations, on a single day in 2000, when she was 18 months old.
Within a very short space of time the previously extremely healthy Hannah was feverish and her health declined rapidly into full-blown autism.
An extraordinary aspect of this case is that no actual defense was mounted by the US Government.
Evidence was submitted to the court, outlining the Hanna’s experience, and instead of the anticipated court case, a concession was made as to the validity of the charges.
Apparently the defense that would have been mounted – had the case gone ahead – involved an assertion by the US Government that Hannah had a pre-existing mitochondrial disorder that was aggravated by the vaccine.
Apart from the obvious obscenity of the gross assault on an immature immune system of nine (9 !!!) vaccinations on one day, the question of mercury’s contribution to what happened would have formed part of the case.
As Cliff Shoemaker, the lawyer for Hannah noted: “One of the theories we were prepared to present in this case is the fact that mercury in the vaccines (Thimerosal – a preservative used in many vaccines until recently) that were given back at that time, can also lead to mitochondrial dysfunction.“
….however because of the Government concession, this was never brought into open court.
As for pre-exisiting mitochondrial problems, Hanna’s father notes:
“There is not a good way to know at this point [about pre-existing] mitochondrial disease – there’s no screening test. There’s no clear sensitive or specific test to look for it. And as well, it’s not well understood, whether this is a predisposing factor, if it was there first, and then later manifested, or if it developed afterwards. These are all questions that I think should be the goals of further research”
While Hanna’s mother observed: “I don’t know that she had a mitochondrial disorder prior to July 19th of 2000. I had no evidence of it in any biological tests. I don’t know if it was the vaccines, getting nine at one time, that caused it?”
Well, are we any further ahead?
Possibly now that this case has been aired and publicised the debate may be more meaningfully explored.
See the transcript of Larry King Live on CNN involving interviews with the parents and various medical experts. Note that the transcript starts with political discussions, which you need to scroll past to reach the vaccination material.
Or – read a full report on the Huffington Post site
Or – read a contrary view on the National Public Radio site, that suggests this is a one-off, with no relevance to the thousands of other claims currently awaiting hearings.
At least this one case of autism is now acknowledged to have resulted from vaccination whatever the squirming and dodging tactics the officials involved adopt.
Many questions remain for parents who decide on a course of vaccination for their child (in those jurisdictions where choice still remains an option), such as:
- Which vaccinations are safest?
- Which combination of vaccinations are safe?
- How many should be given at one time?
- Should vaccines that contain mercury preservative be used? (now banned in the USA apart from use in some flu vaccines)
- …and are there alternatives to mercury containing vaccines?
- Are there any strategies for minimising risk?
- …..and are there ever alternatives to vaccination?