Autism/Thimerosal Timeline 2007

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Excerpt from Autism Facts.com

January 4, 2007
* Nebraska State Senator Carol Hudkins introduces LB 49 to ban Thimerosal in vaccines in their state for infants and children under the age of 3 and pregnant women.

February 2007
* Congressional members Chris Smith, R of New Jersey, Mike Doyle, D of Pennsylvania and Carolyn Maloney, D of New York wrote a letter asking the members of the appropriations committee, Chairman David Obey, Ranking Minority Member James Walsh and Ranking Minority Member Jerry Lewis to fund the Combating Autism Act. They sought $168 million for autism research, surveillance and services in the Labor Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations Bill.
   They also wrote a second letter to Chairman John Murtha, D of Pennsylvania and Ranking Member C.W. Bill Young, R of Florida requesting $15 million for autism research in the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill.
   They asked fellow members of the house to also sign the letter.

February 7, 2007
* Congressional members Dave Weldon, R of Florida and Carolyn Maloney, D of New York introduced H.R. 881 - Mercury Free Vaccine Act of 2007 to again try to have mercury removed from all vaccines.

February 8, 2007
* The CDC held a press conference announcing the results of an autism prevalence study they conducted. Many assumed these rates were current autism prevalence rates, but the study was actually done on 8 year old children born in 1992 and 1994 in 14 communities in the United States. Results for 8 year olds born in 1992 showed that, on average, the rate of autism was approximately 6.7 per 1000 or 1 in every 149 children born that year.
   Results for 8 year olds born in 1994 showed that, on average, the rate of autism was approximately 6.6 per 1000 or 1 in every 151 children born that year.
   The total average rate was 1 in every 150 children born between 1992 and 1994.
   Results for 8 year olds born in 1992 in New Jersey was 9.9 per 1000 or 1 in every 101. For those born in New Jersey in 1994, the rate was 10.6 per 1000 or 1 in every 94. Some states were far lower with West Virginia 1992 births showing a rate of 4.5 per 1000 or 1 in every 222. Rates for Alabama for those born in 1994 were 3.3 per 1000 or 1 in every 303.
   The study also showed a consistent delay in obtaining a diagnosis with medical records showing parents were concerned about language, social or play development by the age of 3, yet diagnoses were averaging between 4.5 to 5.5 years of age. They stated:
   "ASDs are an urgent public health issue...We know that approximately 17 percent of children have a developmental disability ranging from a mild disability such as speech and language impairment to serious developmental disabilities such as intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy and autism. The more severe developmental disabilities affect approximately two percent of the individuals. The cost to American families runs in the billions and the personal costs are immeasurable."

   "While these studies did not investigate the causes of ASDs, CDC's Centers for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research and Epidemiology or CADDRE Network is conducting a multi state collaborative study to help identify factors that may put children at risk for autism spectrum disorders, and other developmental disabilities...We recognize that ASDs are conditions of urgent public health concerns. The causes of autism spectrum disorders are not known, but they do appear to be multiple complex genetic and environmental interactions."
   They estimated the total autism prevalence in the United States to be around 560,000 under the age of 21 years.
   Autism advocates and organizations took notice that the CDC finally expressed that autism was an "urgent public health issue".

February 13, 2007
* Senator Chuck Hagel, R of Nebraska, Russ Feingold, D of Wisconsin and Debbie Stabenow, D of Michigan introduced a resolution to designate the month of April as "National Autism Awareness Month". April had always been recognized by the autism community as "Autism Awareness Month". Hagel stated:
   "This resolution recognizes the importance of autism awareness. The prevalence of autism among children remains high, while the causes of autism are poorly understood and there is no cure. It is critical to support research and improve treatments of autism that will foster the health and well-being of autistic individuals."

March 2007
* Hillary Rodham Clinton, D of New York and Wayne Allard, R of Colorado introduced S. 937, "Expanding the Promise of Individuals with Autism Act."
   The Bill provides approximately $350 million to improve access to comprehensive treatments, interventions, and services for individuals with autism and their families.

March 2, 2007
* The Senate adopted a resolution designating the month of April as "National Autism Awareness Month". April had always been recognized by the autism community as "Autism Awareness Month".

March 27, 2007
* Katie Wright, daughter of Bob and Suzanne Wright who founded the autism organization "AutismSpeaks", posted a message on the EOHarm discussion board for parents stating that she and her husband were seeing a DAN! Doctor and were doing biomedical treatments for her son Christian. The Wrights founded "AutismSpeaks" after Christian regressed into autism after developing normally.
   DAN! doctors, Defeat Autism Now, treat children with Chelation, diet and supplements to remove heavy metals like mercury from the bodies of autistics.
   "Yes, my husband and I follow a true biomedical approach for Christian. He was a very sick little boy for years. Thanks to the work of wonderful DAN! doctors and parent mentors like JB (Handley) and Kevin (Barry) (both from Generation Rescue), Christian is much better. He regressed from a happy, highly verbal, nearly potty trained 2 year old to a miserable 2 and a half year old with almost no words, no affect, mini seizures and diarrhea 10x a day and the accompanying non-stop stomach pain and screaming."

   "So few doctors have a clue. It was not until we found Dr. Krigsman did these start to get better. I cannot pretend to imagine living through this horrible nightmare, only to have the situation complicated by not having the funds to get your child the treatment he/she needs. It is shameful. Our children are so sick and families are being destroyed in the struggle to find and pay for treatment."

   "There is no question that I believe my son regressed into autism due to environmental factors. No question."
   Later that day, after being asked what specific environmental factor she believed caused her son's autism, she stated:
   "I believe that Christian's regression and subsequent autism was the result of receiving 6 vaccines during 1 office visit at 2 months of age. He screamed for 12 hours and had a 104 degree fever nearly the entire time. His vaccines contained thimerosal. He received 31 vaccines total by 18 months. We have immune problems in our family that I believed were triggered in the worst possible way by the onslaught of so many live viruses+mercury into his tiny body. Christian rallied for a year but finally succumbed to constant illnesses and infections at age 2.5 that his body could not fight. It did not help that we gave him Augmetin and other antibiotics as prescribed by his pediatrician. They made everything worse. It is devastating because so much of this is preventable."

March 28, 2007
* David Kirby, author of the best selling book, "Evidence of Harm", writes in his blog on the "Huffington Post" about Katie Wright's public admission to her son's autism treatment. Kirby called Katie Wright and spoke to her on the phone.
   "He's definitely getting better. He was a very sick kid, with an extended gut and inflamed intestines. We couldn't do anything until we got that under control."
   She stated that once Christian started to improve physically, he also began to get better emotionally, mentally and cognitively.
   "Christian is speaking now, though only when prompted. His eye contact is returning, and his crying and tantrums have subsided."

   "His ability to attend has returned. Now he can sit and do his lessons and learn, whereas before he would just lie down and scream in pain, because his abdomen hurt so much. But he still has a long way to go."
   Katie also stated that Christian can now tolerate being in close contact with his brother, something that used to send Christian into screaming fits of anxiety.

April 17, 2007
* Congressmen Mike Doyle, D of Pennsylvania, Chris Smith, R of New Jersey, Eliot Engel, D of New York and Chip Pickering, R of Mississippi introduced H.R. 1881, "Expanding the Promise of Individuals with Autism Act."
   The Bill provides approximately $350 million to improve access to comprehensive treatments, interventions, and services for individuals with autism and their families.

April 18, 2007
* Members of Congress Dave Weldon, R of Florida and Carolyn Maloney, D of New York held a press conference to introduce a new Bill H.R. 1973, "The Vaccine Safety and Public Confidence Assurance Act of 2007".
   The Bill transfers vaccine-safety regulatory functions from the CDC to a new independent entity, the Agency for Vaccine Safety Evaluation. This would be done to combat the inherent conflict of interest known to exist within the CDC because of their current duel responsibility of promoting vaccines as well as monitoring them for safety.
   The Bill also transfers oversight of the Vaccine Safety Datalink from the CDC and Kaiser Permanente to the newly created AVSE. The Bill requires that those monitoring vaccine safety and those who conduct vaccine research be free of conflicts of interest.
   The Bill also requires long term safety monitoring of the vaccine schedule recommended by the CDC and requires public access to the data and transparency in decision-making by government regulators. It also requires accountability by the government to the public.
   The Bill requires the vaccine industry to conduct post-marketing surveillance of adverse reactions to vaccines, and it creates an advisory council that would participate in vaccine safety including those who were vaccine injured and their families.

* Pennsylvania State House Speaker Dennis O'Brien introduces a Bill to require health insurance coverage for individuals with autism in their state.

May 17, 2007
* Members of the House, Christopher Smith, R of New Jersey and Mike Doyle, D of Pennsylvania introduced H.R. 2390 - TEACH Act of 2007 once again in an attempt to get this Bill passed for the benefit of autistic children. The Bill provides a refundable tax credit for education and training expenses relating to autism spectrum disorders to increase the number of teachers with such expertise.

May 21, 2007
* The United States Supreme Court unanimously rules that parents of children with disabilities do not need to hire a lawyer to sue public school districts over special education.
   The case stemmed from a couple from Cleveland, Ohio who sued their school district because the school did not adequately meet the needs of their autistic son. Jeff and Sandee Winkelman sought to have the school district pay for a private school for their autistic child. They had already paid $30,000 in legal fees and could no longer afford to continue.
   Although federal law allows people to represent themselves in court, most federal courts have barred parents of children with disabilities from appearing without a lawyer in cases filed under IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act which guarantees all children a "free appropriate public education".
   Because of this, many parents were forced into situations where they could not afford to fight the school district to offer more specialized programs, assistance and support for their child's disability.
   The unanimous Supreme Court ruling now offers parents a fighting chance.

June 2007
* Generation Rescue Organization releases survey results associating vaccination with autism and ADHD. The survey matches the methodology the CDC uses to establish national prevalence for neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD and autism and shows a higher risk of these disorders with vaccination.

June 6, 2007
* The Governor of South Carolina vetoed "Ryan's Law", not allowing the law to go into effect, which was passed by the state legislature to require private insurers to pay up to $50,000 per year for health care and services for people with autism.

June 7, 2007
* Congressman John Yarmouth, D of Kentucky, introduced H. R. 2609 - Empowering Children with Autism through Education Act of 2007. The Bill requires the establishment of a task force to identify and disseminate educational strategies and promising best practices to improve the quality of learning for individuals with autism for grades K through 12.

* "Ryan's Law" passed as the legislators, all 114 that voted, unanimously overrode the Governor's veto of the Bill in South Carolina. The Bill did not have unanimous support before the veto, but all who voted this day felt the veto was particularly wrong. After the vote, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles began to cry in the balcony. The legislators stood up, turned to them, and gave them a standing ovation.

June 11, 2007
* The first test case to determine whether or not Thimerosal and/or the MMR vaccine causes autism begins in Federal court. The case of Cedillo v. Health and Human Services is being heard by 3 Special Masters of the United States Court of Federal Claims. The court was established under the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. There are more than 4800 other cases pending with similar claims.

June 14, 2007
* Congressman Dan Burton, R of Indiana introduced another version of a previous Bill. This Bill, H.R. 2719 - To Amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, to provide that amounts paid for foods for special dietary use, dietary supplements, or medical foods shall be treated as medical expenses again tried to give financial relief to families who had their children with autism on a casein and gluten free diet as well as the dietary supplements. No one co-sponsored this Bill.

June 20, 2007
* Generation Rescue Organization runs an ad in the "New York Times" asking, "Are We Overvaccinating Our Kids?" and lists the striking difference between the vaccines given to children in 1983 compared to 2007. They also announce that they have results from a survey they paid to have done in Oregon and California.

June 21, 2007
* The New Jersey Senate passes five Bills to improve the detection, treatment and awareness of autism in their state. A-2306 establishes a centralized statewide autism registry and appropriates $500,000. It was introduced by Assemblyman John F. McKeon, Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Assemblyman Nelson Albano, and Assemblywoman Joan Voss.
   A-4055 is to train teachers in autism awareness. It was introduced by Assemblyman Jim Whelan, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Voss and Speaker Joseph J. Roberts.
   A-4056 requires pediatricians to screen for symptoms of autism. It was introduced by Assemblymen Herbert C. Conaway, M.D., Michael Panter, Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, and Assemblyman Louis Greenwald.
   A-4057 creates a new expert panel to study the needs of autistic adults. It was introduced by Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Assemblywoman Joan Voss, Assemblyman Gary Schaer, and McKeon.
   A-4059 extends funding for autism medical research and treatment. It was introduced by Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Assemblyman David Mayer, Voss, Whelan, and Greenwald.
   Both houses had previously passed a measure S-698/A-4054 to restructure the Governor's Council for Medical Research and Treatment of Autism. It was introduced by Senator Loretta Weinberg and Assemblywoman Voss.
   All six Bills go to the governor for signing into state law.

June 22, 2007
* Carolyn Maloney, D of New York, introduced H.R. 2832 "Comprehensive Comparative Study of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Population Act of 2007" along with Maurice Hinchey, D of New York and Ron Paul, R of Texas. The Bill would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct or support a study comparing health outcomes and risks, including autism, between the two separate populations within the United States. The Bill identifies target populations to be included in the study such as the Amish or the Homefirst practice in Chicago which both have large populations of unvaccinated children.

July 2007
* As of now, over 91%, or 9 out of 10 persons currently in the system in the state of California with autism, were born after 1980, the year that California's mandatory immunization law was enacted.

* A Bill in California, AB 16, was approved by the Senate Education Committee to remove all public input and legislative review on childhood vaccines added to the mandatory immunization schedule. It means that every new vaccine approved by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) would automatically be added to the mandatory schedule in that state. The passage of this Bill would set a dangerous precedent for all states.

July 11, 2007
* The California Senate Health Committee meets and passes AB 16, making all vaccines recommended by the CDC automatically added to the mandatory schedule for children in California.

* The House Committee on Appropriations adopted an amendment by Dave Weldon, R of Florida that prevents federal dollars to be used to provide mercury-containing flu vaccines to children under the age of three.

July 17, 2007
* The Bill to be attached to the appropriations Bill to prevent federal dollars being spent on mercury-containing flu vaccines for children under the age of three came to a vote and passed.

* Pennsylvania State House Representatives pass H.B. 1150, introduced by Speaker Dennis O'Brien. It is a provision of the Pennsylvania insurance law requiring private insurers to provide insurance coverage of up to $35,000 a year for behavioral programs such as ABA for people with autism.

Late July 2007
* President Bush declares he will veto the 2008 Health and Human Services-Labor-Education Appropriations Bill because of "objectionable provisions" such as a measure to ban the use of childhood flu vaccines that contain Thimerosal. He stated that he will not sign the Bill and called for an amendment removing the children's safety provision from the Bill.

* Congressman Ron Paul, R of Texas, made statements denouncing President Bush's pending action to veto the Bill.

September 20, 2007
* 21 senators wrote a letter to senator Max Baucus, D of Montana and Chairman of the Committee on Finance and Charles Grassley, R of Iowa and the Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on Finance to express their;
"strong opposition to the recently proposed regulatory action by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that drastically cuts Medicaid funding by reducing school-based and rehabilitative services for children with disabilities."
   The proposed rule would prohibit people with developmental disabilities from participating in the program that currently serves them. It would deny reimbursement for community skills training, day programs, and employment related services supervised by health professionals. It also scales back rehabilitative services for children in foster care and those covered by IDEA in schools and it eliminates a congressionally mandated protection authorizing 19 states to provide day rehabilitative services to children with disabilities.
   The 21 Senators who signed the letter to help protect Medicaid services for children with disabilities were Bernard Sanders, I of Vermont, Ken Salazar, D of Colorado, Patrick Leahy, D of Vermont, Jeff Bingaman, D of New Mexico, Richard Durbin, D of Illinois, Ron Wyden, D of Oregon, Barbara Boxer, D of California, Blanche Lincoln, D of Arkansas, Chris Dodd, D of Connecticut, Tom Harkin, D of Iowa, Hillary Rodham Clinton, D of New York, Robert Casey, D of Pennsylvania, Debbie Stabenow, D of Michigan, John Kerry, D of Massachusetts, Mark Pryor, D of Arkansas, Carl Levin, D of Michigan, Tim Johnson, D of South Dakota, Joseph Lieberman, I of Connecticut, Barack Obama, D of Illinois, Chuck Schumer, D of New York and Jack Reed, D of Rhode Island.