The Persecution of Andrew Wakefield, M.D.

"....parents who believe their children's autism has been triggered by the [MMR] vaccine are planning to show their support for the doctor outside next month's disciplinary hearing in London. In addition, an online petition to demand the government and health organisations "stop investigating the doctors and start investigating the patients" has collected more than 4000 signatures. Campaigner Bill Welsh, president of the Edinburgh-based Autism Treatment Trust, claimed Wakefield was the victim of a "medical establishment witch-hunt". "Dr Wakefield listened to the parents about their children's disease, clinically investigated the children and reported what he found - where is the crime in that?" he said. "This trial undermines the possibility of any future independent scientific research that might challenge establishment policy." The petition, started by campaigner Nigel Thomas - who has two brothers diagnosed with autism - states: "I have seen first-hand their decline, seen them screaming in pain and I have seen how all but a handful of doctors repeatedly refused to investigate their problems, brushing off the family's concerns and leaving us helpless, like thousands of other families around the world." - Judith Duffy, Sunday Mail

"This is not just about MMR, not just about mercury in vaccines and in the end, not just about autism. This is about a public health disaster of gigantic proportions that will affect this generation and generations to come, and those responsible must be brought to account. It is about the refusal of mainstream medicine to accept the consequences of their actions. It is about the refusal to treat a condition that is becoming almost commonplace; a condition for which the medical profession is largely responsible; a condition whose existence the medical profession ruthlessly denies in the light of its culpability. From its first day and for its duration the GMC hearing will be a window on this world of deceit. My brothers and I will be outside the building on day one and we will not be standing alone. Be there with us if you can, but at the very least, sign this petition for us to present on the day." - Nigel Thomas, Author, "Autism: Stop the Deceit, Start the Treatment Petition

"A former Government medical officer responsible for deciding whether medicines are safe has accused the Government of "utterly inexplicable complacency" over the MMR triple vaccine for children. Dr Peter Fletcher, who was Chief Scientific Officer at the Department of Health, said if it is proven that the jab causes autism, "the refusal by governments to evaluate the risks properly will make this one of the greatest scandals in medical history". He added that after agreeing to be an expert witness on drug-safety trials for parents' lawyers, he had received and studied thousands of documents relating to the case which he believed the public had a right to see. He said he has seen a "steady accumulation of evidence" from scientists worldwide that the measles, mumps and rubella jab is causing brain damage in certain children. But he added: "There are very powerful people in positions of great authority in Britain and elsewhere who have staked their reputations and careers on the safety of MMR and they are willing to do almost anything to protect themselves." - Sue Corrigan, Daily Mail

"My son had the MMR jab a week after his first birthday and suffered the normal side effects connected with the vaccine. However, his symptoms persisted and got dangerously worse. "Within a week he had a purple rash and his whole body had swollen up like the Michelin Man. He wouldn't stop screaming, it was quite clear he wasn't well. It did die down but all his normal functions, like eye contact and dialogue he knew before, had gone since the jabs. While in Alder Hey Children's Hospital with his older sister, I noticed a poster on the wall about autism which listed the symptoms, and he had seven of the 10. It was then I made the connection between the MMR jab and autism." Donna was referred to Rhuddlan Children's Centre and a consultant psychologist confirmed her son was autistic."- Samantha Castle, North Wales Weekly News

Barbara Loe Fisher Commentary:

In a few weeks, Andrew Wakefield, M.D., will be defending himself against charges of professional misconduct lodged against him by British physicians running the General Medical Council of England. At the heart of the matter is the medical establishment's fury at Dr. Wakefield for daring to publish an hypothesis in the Lancet in 1998 that provided clinical evidence for an association between MMR vaccine, intestinal bowel disease and autism. Subsequently, Dr. Wakefield suggested that some genetically vulnerable children might be unable to handle being injected with three live attenuated viral vaccines at once, pointing out that children rarely are simultaneously infected with wild type measles, mumps and rubella infections in nature.

Andrew Wakefield has steadfastly resisted pressure from government, medicine and the pharmaceutical industry to halt his research into autistic enterocolitis and the possible links between childhood vaccinations, intestinal inflammation and autism. That refusal to stop investigating the potential biological mechanisms for vaccine-induced autistic enterocolitis has made him a target for those determined to make an example out of him. Like individuals who are persecuted for holding different ideological, religious or political beliefs from those in power, Dr. Wakefield is being persecuted for taking a scientific position that does not conform with the majority of those operating or profiting from the global mass vaccination system.

It is sad to watch physicians devour one of their own out of ignorance, envy, greed and fear. The people of the world are witnessing this Great Inquisition. They will not forget the martyrdom of a physician, one of the brightest and best, who discovered a link between vaccination and regressive autism and did what he could to heal affected children and prevent others from suffering their fate.

Many parents of vaccine injured children - regardless of which biological mechanism was involved in their children's vaccine-associated regression into autism - support the pioneering work of Andrew Wakefield and his right to pursue his scientific investigation without being persecuted.

Mark Blaxill, co-founder of SAFEMINDS, said: "I'd like to urge you all to take a moment and to visit the petition site and sign the statement of support for Andy Wakefield. Andy has been a pioneer in autism treatment, leading the way in finding ways to diagnose our children's medical problems and to improve their health and development. Because he had the courage to question the established modalities of current public health programs (suggesting parents split the MMR vaccine and spread out its administration) and the safety of a combination vaccine (the MMR), he has been unfairly attacked, ruthlessly sanctioned, driven from his job and his home and declared a pariah by the scientific and medical establishment of the UK. Looking back on this episode, history will judge this reaction harshly. But in the meantime, things may get worse. Andy has been summoned to appear before the General Medical Council of England. There is a chance he will be struck from the medical register as punishment for his courageous actions.

"I can think of no one who deserves such treatment less than Andy Wakefield. Indeed, Andy deserves praise and accolades for his work. He stands for a model of personal conduct to which other clinician/scientists should aspire. He treats his patients with compassion and their parents with respect. He listened to the families of autistic children when no one else did. He led rigorous scientific investigations into the nature of the gastrointestinal inflammation that so many of us have observed in our children. He made the scientific case for the biomedical approach to autism treatment when the field was only just emerging and needed the scientific rigor he brought to the work. He persevered in the face of obstacles that few other scientists would have endured. And he has done all of these things with unfailing good grace, an open and generous spirit and without rancor or bitterness."

To read and sign the petition supporting Andrew Wakefield, M.D., go to
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/GMC/.

No donation is necessary when signing the petition, which originates and is being maintained in Britain.