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Amanda Peet - Peet Stirs Up Autism Battle With New Rally Cry For Vaccines

25 November 2009 22:01

Picture: Amanda Peet The Cinema Society, Details and DKNY Men screening of 'Brothers' at the SVA Theatre - arrivals New York C....

Peet Stirs Up Autism Battle With New Rally Cry For Vaccines

Actress AMANDA PEET has reignited her feud with those opposing child vaccinations over autism fears by insisting it's "unconscionable" that parents can let their kids start school without the proper medical cautions.

The 2012 star upset autism activist Jenny MCCarthy and Autism United officials in 2008 when she called them "parasites" for leading a campaign to overhaul America's immunisation programmes, claiming vaccinations are largely responsible for autism in children.

MCCarthy, who is the mother of an autistic child, led a rally in Washington, D.C. calling for the Federal Government to clean vaccines of all toxins and to change a loaded schedule of immunisation, which experts claim leads to the cause of autism.

The cause is controversial because leading medical groups insist there's no clear proof that vaccinations lead to autism.

Peet agrees with the medics, but she has apologised for her emotional outburst in a magazine interview.

Now a celebrity spokesperson for child welfare group Every Child By Two and the Measles Initiative, Peet has sparked the debate again as she prepares to become a pre-school mum.

She tells Self magazine, "It scared me when I learned how many parents were withholding vaccines from their children. It made me frightened of the possibility that some of these diseases are coming back.

"This is about the future of our children's health. It's about what happens when you become complacent and you're not vigilant as a community."

And she insists the statistics speak for themselves: "I learned that every day 540 children around the world die from measles when there is an absolutely safe vaccine that costs less than a dollar per child.

"My daughter is about to go to pre-school. If you walk by a school and you try to imagine 540 children... it's unconscionable that we're not getting the vaccines to people."

Peet's latest remarks are sure to upset MCCarthy, who still hasn't forgiven the actress for the comments she made in 2008. She said, "She has a lot of balls to come forward and be on that side, because there is an angry mob on my side. I like the fact that I can say she's completely wrong... Until she walks in our shoes she has no idea."

And Autism United bosses are still calling on supporters to boycott Peet's films.

Executive director John Gilmore raged, "Ms. Peet's comments are deplorable and an apology will not suffice."

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Comments View All Comments (4)

5th December 2009 16:38 OFIH (1)

	It's simple Ms. Peet, vaccinate your child and don't worry about my child. MY child is one that is now vaccine damaged (and even YOU couldn't deny what we saw, our pro-vaccination, you really shouldn't not skip even one vaccine doctor couldn't deny what he saw). I am so glad I have a right to protect my child's health, no matter what you think is the right choice. You seem to think we should listen to your ideas as fact instead of using our own brains, doing our own research, and making our own decisions for our children. Well, until you have walked even 4" in my shoes, please don't presume to understand the realities of vaccine damage. I fully support all parents making the decision to vaccinate or not. Educate yourselves on the facts (the CDC, VAERS, and so on are even good sites to get quality information on ALL the side effects and ingredients in any given vaccine), remember that "thermisol-free" vaccines still contain thermisol (even the CDC admits this), and make a quality decision based on facts, not scare tactics by either side. But, Ms. Peet, to dare freak out about people wanting CLEAN vaccines (and other medications) for their children really makes me scratch my head in confusion. I would wonder why you are so desperate for medications filled with unhealthy ingredients when those same vaccines could be rid of those ingredients and still protect children from the same diseases. Care to tell us why you desire dirty vaccines so badly?

4th December 2009 15:52 mommytoonebabyboy (1)

	You know what - EVERYONE should mind their own business on this controversy. Both sides are correct in their own way. There is absolutely NO definitve proof that vaccines cause autism in children because you can't know if they would not have been autistic anyway. This is what I call a "crystal ball" phenom similar to when the outcry was that breast implants caused breast cancer. Unless someone has the ability to know the past, present, AND future ... you simply CANNOT say vaccines definitively cause autism. There are millions of children vaccinated every year who DON'T have autism and children that AREN'T vaccinated and DO so you really can't correlate the two responsively. However, if a parent doesn't want their child to receive the vax, then they should be able to decide that as well. It's time for BOTH sides to stop telling other parents what they should do with their own children. There is NO reason for non-vax parents to try to scare parents into believing their views on an autism/vax connection. In fact, it's inherently irresponsible. I do vaccinate my child and I can relate to parents on both sides as I was concerned too when making the decision to vaccinate. I'm thankful I have an excellent pediatrician who discussed with me the facts on this and helped me see the light on making the right choice to my child. These vaccines are around to keep children safe .. medicine is a blessing, not a curse. If it wasn't, why would there be such a heated debate seeking the path to providing comprehensive health care to everyone in America? And non-vaxing parents better start realizing that if we DO enter a realm of universal-style health care, you WILL be vaccinating your children because I can tell you right now it WILL be required for all and if you want to have your children covered by insurance - you'll comply, or be dropped from your coverage. Trust me on that!

30th November 2009 19:57 Anamcara (1)

	Ms. Peet (or the media hucksters put words in her mouth) find it "unconscionable" that children are not getting vaccinated. Being the mother of not 1 but 4 neuro-disabled children, I find it unconscionable for any parent to simply accept the "its safe and good for you" propoganda that has been put out there for years by both the media and the medical community. You don't accept that a car is safe until you do the research prior to buying. Why on EARTH would you accept that vaccines - or any medication for that matter - are safe simply because some governmental agencies have declared it so? Statistics can be manipulated any way that is needed to either sell or demonize a product, including vaccinations and medications. The only people with a truly long-term vested interest in their child is the parent. Do the research - ALL sides of it and make an EDUCATED choice. Until you do, you're simply buying into the hype. I made my choices based on research and my own history on whether to vaccinate or not, and for the record, they were made long before it was discovered my children were all neuro-disabled.