Doctors ask ABC to cancel ‘Stone’ debut

Wed., Jan. 30, 2008

Lindsey Tanner Associated Press

The nation’s largest pediatricians’ group is calling on ABC to cancel the first episode of a new series because it perpetuates the myth that vaccines can cause autism.

“Eli Stone,” debuting Thursday, features British actor Jonny Lee Miller as a prophet-like lawyer who in the opening episode argues in court that a flu vaccine made a child autistic.

When it’s revealed that an executive at the fictional vaccine maker didn’t allow his own child to get the shot, jurors side with the family, giving them a huge award.

The show’s co-creators say they’re not anti-vaccine and would be upset if parents chose not to immunize their children after seeing the show.

But Dr. Renee R. Jenkins, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said: “If parents watch this program and choose to deny their children immunizations, ABC will share in the responsibility for the suffering and deaths that occur as a result.”

The network says it will air the episode as planned, but will include a disclaimer about the story line and direct viewers to a government Web site on autism.

The theory that a mercury-based preservative once widely used in childhood vaccines is to blame has been repeatedly discounted in scientific studies.

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