What the Court Said In the Autism Vaccine Cases
A federal vaccine court ruled today against parents who argued that vaccines had contributed to their children developing autism. Here’s are reports from the Associated Press and Washington Post.
The cases before the vaccine court are complex, and some are yet to be decided. Today’s rulings focused on the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. This backgrounder explains which cases were decided today, and which are still pending.
Here are a few key passages from today’s rulings from three different “special masters.” There’s a bit of jargon in the text: “Petitioners” are the parents or guardians; “respondent” is the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services. The court heard from many experts from both sides.
One ruling:
After careful consideration of all of the evidence, it was abundantly clear that petitioners’ theories of causation were speculative and unpersuasive. Respondents experts were far more qualified, better supported by the weight of scientific research and authority, and simply more persuasive on nearly every point in contention.
A second:
I concluded that the evidence was overwhelmingly contrary to the petitioners’ contentions. … The numerous medical studies concerning these issues, performed by medical scientists worldwide, have come down strongly against the petitioners’ contentions.
A third:
[P]etitioners’ experts tended to assign […]
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