Autism-Vaccine Ruling

FROM ABC: A special court has dealt a big blow to parents who blame vaccines for their kids' autism. Doctors hope Thursday's special court ruling puts an end to the fierce debate over a possible link between certain children's vaccines and autism.

Dr. Bill Schaffner, Chairman - Preventive Medicine, Vanderbilt University "Parents can be reassured the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine which every child should get is not associated with autism." The decision is a stunning setback for the 5 thousand families who filed claims seeking compensation for their children's autism. Schaffner said "The families will have to digest this ruling, of course, and some will be persuaded by the logic of the judges, others perhaps not."

But the court has yet to rule on legal challenges from other families who claim thimerosal, a preservative in some other vaccines is to blame. Actress Jenny McCarthy, whose son Evan has autism, told Good Morning America last year that she believes the vaccines *could* be the cause.

Jenny McCarthy, actress GMA 9/29/08 from GMA 6/4/08 interview "We believe that vaccines need to take a closer look at what the ingredients are." Opponents are already attacking the court's logic. In a statement the group Talk About Curing Autism says. "If the government can not definitively tell us the cause of autism, they can not tell us what doesn't cause autism either. This fight is not over."

But it began in part because there is still no scientific explanation for what causes the disorder or why there has been a spike in its prevalence. According to the CDC today 1 in 150 8-year-olds has autism.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen