SafeMinds and autism community call the White House declaration

'irresponsible and dangerous'

    WASHINGTON, July 18/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- According to the
 Congressional Quarterly, the White House stated on Tuesday that President
 Bush would veto the HHS-Labor-Education Appropriations Bill because of the
 cost and "objectionable provisions" such as a measure to ban the use of
 childhood flu vaccines that contain thimerosal, a mercury-based
 preservative.
 
     Autism advocacy groups are outraged because President Bush stated in a
 questionnaire during his 2004 campaign: "I support the removal of
 Thimerosal from vaccines on the childhood national vaccine schedule. During
 a second term as President, I will continue to support increased funding to
 support a wide variety of research initiatives aimed at seeking definitive
 causes and/or triggers of autism. It is important to note that while there
 are many possible theories about causes or triggers of autism, no one
 material has been definitely included or excluded."
 
     But since 2005, President Bush has steadfastly refused to issue an
 Executive Order banning high amounts of mercury in vaccines that would
 protect children and pregnant women despite repeated requests from the
 autism community that he uphold his campaign promise. Under his current
 administration, mercury has been and will continue to be knowingly injected
 into the youngest of American citizens. The controversial
 mercury-containing preservative thimerosal has been linked by thousands of
 parents as being the cause of their children's mercury poisoning and
 autism.
 
     The flu vaccine which continues to be manufactured with mercury is
 recommended for all pregnant women, infants and children despite the fact
 that the Institute of Medicine in 2001 recommended against the policy of
 exposing these same sensitive groups to thimerosal containing vaccines.
 According to the EPA, one in every six women of childbearing age already
 has blood levels of mercury high enough to cause neurological damage to
 their unborn children due to environmental exposures alone. "Injecting even
 more mercury into the bodies of pregnant women, infants and children when
 it is not a necessary component of vaccines is just bad medicine," said Lyn
 Redwood, president of SafeMinds and parent of a mercury-injured child. "It
 defies logic that a flu vaccine must be disposed of as a hazardous waste if
 it is not used, but somehow injecting the same mercury-containing vaccine
 into a baby is safe."
 
 
 
 

SOURCE SAFE MINDS