This article blows my mind: apparently, some European doctors are performing operations to medically “repair” the virginity of women who’ve lost it. I think a good deal of our problems with religion, in today’s world, stem from a disconnect between adherence to the letter of the law, and to its spirit. People turn to the letter when they can’t fulfill the spirit, becoming rabid fundamentalists instead of engaging in Christ’s true message of love and hope. Although this case of “hymenoplasty” is a little less worrisome, for the obvious reason that it only affects the individual, it showcases how some people will care more about satisfying the illusion of religion, than religion itself.
Wow, I seem to have poked a hornet’s nest. I’m glad to have this diaogue on the site; I agree that it’s important, but I retain my deep, deep suspicion of “conspiracies” to cover up the evidence. I’m glad to have a doctor (thanks Dr. Lipson!) and a neuro-scientist (thanks Tmtoulouse!) part of the discussion; you both know you’re always welcome here.
I’ve also had the chance to dig a little deeper. This Kirby fellow has been investigated by some others on the internet; let’s examine.
Obviously, this is a deeply and intensely emotional issue. While I can’t imagine the pain parents must feel at coping with this debilitating disease, I do have some idea: while working for Parliament, I had the chance to visit a state-funded academy for autistic children, and I saw firsthand the pride and love in one parent’s eyes, as he watched his son flourish in an environment where he, suddenly, wasn’t alone, and wasn’t strange. This was a man who’d quit a lucrative job in industry to help teach his son, so that his mildly autistic boy could have a shot at leading a normal life. And he was succeeding! Through love, understanding, hard work, and a supportive community, his son was happier than ever, and had spoken for the first time.
So I do not doubt the commitment, love, and insurmountable hope of the parents of autistic children. But I do have to look askance at selective science, and ask if these energies could be better spent on the children themselves.
Imagine my horror when I received the e-mail below, telling me that David Kirby, who apparently claims to have found the smoking gun linking mercury in vaccines to autism, will be speaking at my law school. Dammit, Jim, I’m a lawyer, not a doctor, but I know to listen to studies, and I know that one bizzare case does not a trend make. I also know enough to understand that the public health risks of crying “wolf” on the “vaccine industry” with little evidence outweigh the benefits of a little alarmism. Unless you’re pretty damn sure, it’s a very poor idea to tell parents to stop innoculating their kids.
Here’s the e-mail:
Join David Kirby, best-selling author of “Evidence of Harm — Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic: A Medical Controversy” for lecture and discussion.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
NYU School of Law, 40 Washington Square South,
Vanderbilt Hall, Room 204
6:30 – 9:00 PM
RSVP required: kirbylecture@gmail.comKirby will address the recent case in US Vaccine Court in which the government conceded that vaccines induced autism in one little girl, give updates on other cases and discuss emerging science on the link between autism and vaccines.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to make the talk, or if I’m the best person to speak up for responsible science on this issue. But someone should. Enough from me, though. Listen to one of my friends, an actual doctor, at Denialism Blog.
