Mad About ‘Eli Stone’
And Not in a Good Way Either
Note: After the current sentence, this post won’t mention Ally McBeal even once—I promise. Now on to the story…
According to a press release issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics on January 25, the organization of 60,000 pediatricians is hopping mad about an implication in the pilot of the new ABC legal dramedy Eli Stone that a link exists between vaccinating infants and the potential for autism to arise as a result. How hopping mad is the AAP? Hopping mad enough to demand that ABC cancel the series’ premiere scheduled to air on Thursday, January 31.
This outrage stems from a pilot plotline that has the title lead character, a lawyer played by English actor Jonny Lee Miller who suffers from hallucinations due to a brain lesion, winning a case by successfully arguing that a child’s autism was caused by a vaccine. The AAP insists the plot is a dangerous fabrication since “[n]o scientific link has been found between vaccines and autism.”
AAP president Renee R. Jenkins states:
A television show that perpetuates the myth that vaccines cause autism is the height of reckless irresponsibility on the part of ABC and its parent company, The Walt Disney Co. 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 consequences of a decline in immunization rates could be devastating to the health of our nation’s children.
Predictably, ABC has given no indication whatsoever that it cares what the AAP thinks or wants—the premiere of Eli Stone will go on as planned. It does seem odd, however, that Walt Disney, a company known for its child-friendly entertainment fare, would allow ABC to air such a storyline that’s so contrary to conventional medical wisdom. If a viewer watches and exposes their child to unnecessary harm because they decide based on the episode not to have their child vaccinated, it really would be tragic. I hope TV watchers aren’t that gullible, but…
Eli Stone airs Thursdays on ABC at 10:02pm EST
Eli Stone photo courtesy of ABC
