Anecdotally, unvaccinated children appear to be healthier.  It's true that anecdotes don't prove anything .  They are also not very satisfying to all of us who desire large, longitudinal, controlled studies comparing the vaccinated to the unvaccinated. But the studies have never been done... so  anecdotes, small studies and  epidemiology are all we have.  Let's review a couple of good examples.

First, there's Homefirst Health Services with three locations in northeastern Illinois.  Specializing in home births, Dr. Mayer Eisenstein and Homefirst have been caring for tens of thousands of babies and families for nearly four decades.  The vast majority of his practice is unvaccinated.  Homefirst has no children with autism and significantly less asthma and diabetes compared to national rates.  Dr. Eisenstein's open offer to the public health and medical communities to examine his patient records has fallen on deaf ears.  No one seems very interested, with the possible exception of a health insurer who wanted to know why his patients didn't file claims.  And former UPI reporter, Dan Olmsted who published this piece in 2005 - The Age of Autism: 'A Pretty Big Secret.'  Indeed.  Mayer follows in the deep and impressive footsteps of his mentor Dr. Robert Mendelsohn the iconic pediatrician who helped parents trust their instincts.

Second, there's the Amish of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  The Amish don't take drugs, they don't vaccinate and they have virtually no autism... just three or four children who were either vaccinated before entering the community or lived downwind of a coal-fired power plant.  If we apply the national autism incidence to this small population, there should be at least 130.  Seems Dan Olmsted is the only one poking around here, too: The Age of Autism: The Amish anomaly and Mercury and the Amish.  When the former head of the CDC, Dr. Julie Gerberding was told about the Amish, she said there was something special about them that they don't have autism.  She called it "genetic connectivity." And she declined to investigate.

Where Are The Studies?

A devastating childhood disorder, affecting hundreds of thousands of children at ever increasing rates.  A possible link to vaccines.  And still, no inquiry.  This holds true for the group of five thousand families that comprise the Omnibus Autism Proceeding of "Vaccine Court."  Five thousand families who have met stringent hurdles including attorney representation and the compilation of  extensive medical records documenting their children's injuries.   No inquiry.  The radio silence speaks volumes.

The studies that our public health officials hold up as evidence of no casual link between vaccines and neurodevelopmental damage are quite plainly and shamefully inadequate.  We should be embarrassed to hold them up as the best justification that a country of our stature and standards can muster.  More of us would be appalled if we bothered to read them in the first place.  When I say read, I mean read the original studies.  Not the CDC's interpretation of the studies.  Not the media's reliance upon the CDC's press release.  Please take a good, hard look at www.14studies.org. 

Our country does not investigate.  There have been no well-designed, controlled studies, even after many decades of mass vaccinating our babies and children.  I'll say it again because it bears repeating. America has never performed double-blind, placebo-controlled studies comparing the total health outcomes of vaccinated children compared to their unvaccinated peers.  Will this year's version of the legislation that perennially languishes in Congress finally prevail?  Will you contact your elected officials and ask them to support this bill?  Until we make it clear that we demand this research, it will not be done.