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Criminal Acts Or Total Incompetence? In my opinion, the psychological and emotional healing that lay ahead, for many, would involve very difficult times. Yet, it was time for that healing to begin… for mistakes to be admitted, and for life to go on. With issues of vaccination safety, there were always persons who believed the government and the pharmaceuticals knew a great deal more than they made public in these matters. Given the materials presented and the fact that so many children, and indeed, adults seemed to have been so devastated by vaccinations, obviously, if officials in the government and the pharmaceutical industry knew of the harm substances like mercury could cause in humans, then part of the healing process needed to involve criminal prosecutions. Obviously, there were persons who had to know how much mercury we were injecting into our children, both in the government and in the pharmaceutical industry. Dockets filed with the USFDA by the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology alone show that the USFDA knew of the dangers of mercury. No one should be allowed to profit by knowingly putting these toxic substances in vaccinations and from having done this to innocent children and adults. It was well known to science that mercury was the second most toxic substance in the world, and as such, its use should have been much more closely monitored, both in the pharmaceutical industry and by government officials. And, that brings us to the second point – total incompetence! If government officials and those in the pharmaceutical industry argued that they “did not know” (something, I, personally, found very hard to believe) – well, they should have! You would not put a person not trained in air traffic control procedures in a control tower! To do so, I was sure, many would agree, should be prosecutable as a criminal act given such a position so greatly impacted public health and safety as well as national security. The same thing was true of those in positions that were there to monitor and ensure public health and safety within our government and pharmaceutical industry. For no one to have seen that children were being injected with anywhere from 50 to 100 times safe mercury levels by the age of two, as determined by the government itself, screamed of total incompetence within these agencies and this industry – and spoke volumes in terms of the future direction of public health. Surely, the issues raised in these materials, would be enough to have a very negative impact on the pharmaceutical industry. The parents of the autistic, the families of those with Alzheimer’s, the elderly population itself, etc., represented a huge voting block indeed from both a political standpoint and shareholder standpoint. Fortunes had been made in the pharmaceutical industry… and now, fortunes could be lost. Vaccinations, once hailed as one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century, now had the potential of becoming one of the 20th century’s greatest scandals. Had money played a role in the creation of this mess? Surely, many would argue it had. As such, perhaps one solution would be to remove financial incentives from the public health domain. Any punitive damages imposed on the pharmaceutical industry and restitution or accountability would obviously devastate this industry - but perhaps that needed to happen! A “shakeout” seemed to be very much in order in this industry that had for too long gone basically unregulated in matters so critical to public health. Perhaps in all areas of public health there needed to be strict salary caps, including the removal of stock options, to prevent the clouding of judgment in matters of right and wrong when it came to public health. Money, indeed, has a way of clouding issues and as such, its removal may be the only answer. Should the pharmaceutical industry be made into a not for profit industry? I did not know the answer to that… that may be part of the answer… but so could very stiff penalties and judgments against this industry. By now, there was absolutely no denying that autism had reached epidemic levels around the world. As more persons learned of just “how bad” things really were I was sure we would see more in the area of what I called “smokescreens”… actions by the government that made the US public “think” the issue of autism was being diligently worked by those at the highest levels of government. Indeed, as I completed this book, another interesting autism related story… the FDA raided Kirkman Labs on October 17th, 2002, one of the only companies, worldwide, working specifically on dietary supplements for the autistic – and perhaps the best known. Kirkman Labs had labeled one of its many products as being used to “treat” autism. According to FDA labeling regulations that constituted a false claim. Surely, I would not argue the FDA on that point if the word “treat” could not be used specifically for supplements. The very interesting thing in all of this was that on the very next day, there was another major news story relating to autism. This time, it was regarding the fact that in California, there had been a three-fold increase in autism, yet, there was no explanation available for this dramatic increase. No one knew why we were seeing these surges in autism. Really? So, what the government was telling the American public, and indeed the world, was that we did not know what caused autism… but they did not believe it was vaccinations! If the government did not know what caused autism… how could they know what did not cause it? Interesting question – indeed! In my opinion, the raid of Kirkman Labs was but a poor attempt by the government agencies involved in the autism crisis to make it look as though they were diligently working the issue – even though in issues of mercury – the big issues - they had apparently been asleep at the switch - for decades! Kirkman Labs now had over 100 products that could be used by parents of the autistic to help them with the many issues they now faced with their children. Most of Kirkman Labs’ products were things that required no prescription… things that were found naturally in the body but were depleted in the autistic. Because of how “messed up” these children were, much of what healthy persons took so for granted, these children had to be given as supplements in order to help their bodies function a little better. The bodily functions of these children, in all aspects, had been so devastated and obviously that of many scientists and doctors, that supplements of many kinds were now needed for these children - perhaps for life! An entire industry had now surfaced – autism - and it was very much a big bucks industry – and one the pharmaceuticals also were very much looking to control. The pharmaceuticals were already working diligently in Europe to make all supplements available by prescription only. How long would it be before that proposal was placed before the American Congress as well? The issue with the labeling of taurine, a naturally occurring brain amino acid, a non-prescription product was but an honest and unfortunate mistake on the part of Kirkman Labs. I wondered if Kirkman Labs had been sent any letter by the FDA advising them of the labeling problem – if Kirkman Labs had been given a chance to stop distribution and re-label the product or been allowed to include an insert clarifying the labeling issue in all mailings to customers. How would the FDA have handled a similar situation within the pharmaceutical industry? I truly could not help but wonder. There were very few companies like Kirkman Labs – working issues of autism, specifically, to help better the lives of these children by providing supplements for the autistic – things that the “normal person” did not need to supplement at all. The simple fact that Kirkman Labs now offered over 100 products to help parents of the autistic spoke volumes in terms of just how devastated these children really were. The expense for these products, for parents, could truly be overwhelming (with basically none of it covered by insurance)… not to mention the physical task of having to provide a child with a ton of supplements each day. No one, but the parent of an autistic child, could truly understand this devastation and its implication for the lives of the autistic! I, personally, may not agree 100% with Kirkman Labs’ product line for the autistic in relation to what worked best for my child. Yet, the decision of what over the counter supplement to use was a decision to be made by each parent in consultation with a person knowledgeable (i.e., doctor) with that child’s medical history. I had made my decisions in terms of what I felt were the best supplements for my child. Products I found not to work for my son, obviously, worked for other children. The best product fit for any autistic child was a matter of trial and error for each parent. In spite of my personal views on a couple of specific Kirkman Labs products, there was absolutely no denying that this company had done a great deal to help autistic children lead better lives. I encouraged all parents of the autistic, and indeed, all of society to stand firmly behind companies such as Kirkman Labs and others also providing help for the autistic. Without the dedication of such companies, and access to many supplements – without a prescription - the recovery of the autistic would be a most difficult task indeed – and the cost to society of not being able to recover these children - overwhelming! Perhaps, instead of spending its time going after those truly trying to help our children, the government could best spend its time and our taxpayer dollars by going after those who were the true criminals in the autism scandal – those persons who could be found within the strong and almost impenetrable walls of the pharmaceutical industry and the government agencies involved in vaccination regulation and administration. I think the public had had more than enough in terms of “smokescreen” efforts. Whether or not one chose to believe of those in the pharmaceutical industry and in the government that “they knew”… or “did not know”… neither option provided for “an out” in terms of accountability to the nations of the world, and both – criminal acts or total incompetence - in my opinion, warranted criminal prosecutions at many levels - and very serious rethinking in terms of the future direction of public health. It was very easy to let the anger you felt as a parent of an autistic child consume you as you learned more and more about all these issues. That anger could be expressed in many forms – lawsuits being but one of them. I certainly understood those parents who chose to pursue that option. The financial toll on families afflicted with autism could be devastating indeed and the desire to ensure the autistic child’s future well being and care were concerns weighing very deeply on the heart of all parents of the autistic – including mine. Yet, as society looked to get to the bottom of these issues, I personally felt the road was too long to get involved in a lawsuit that could personally drain me even more. Should the pharmaceuticals pay? If found negligent - absolutely! I, personally, just did not have it in me to fight that long legal battle – as valid as I knew it was. Autism had stolen more than just my child’s life… it had made prisoners of my entire family… and we wanted that imprisonment to end! To let go of my anger and to go on with my life, as difficult as it had been, I had to forgive those who had done this to my child, in spite of my many tears and my constant battle with that anger and its desire to resurface. I would still continue to fight for what was right, but I would now put my energies in moving forward too! For me, personally, God would be the final judge in my battle with autism. I had no strength for this battle on earth – but that certainly did not mean that it had been “won” by those in either the government or the pharmaceutical industry who had contributed to this disorder in my child! I knew, even for me, ultimately, this battle would be won – in the end! I hoped now, the real healing could begin - for all -because now, autism touched all aspects of society, absolutely every person – worldwide! The autistic child – once a forgotten child – now the key to so much!!! |
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