SafeMinds

The Coalition for SafeMinds (Sensible Action For Ending Mercury-Induced Neurological Disorders) is a non-profit organization dedicated to investigating the risks of exposure to mercury from medical products. SafeMinds was founded in 2000 and is led by the parents of autistic children.[1]

The organization contends that mercury in vaccines, in the form of thiomersal, is related to the development of autism. Medical research has refuted any causative link between thiomersal and autism.[2] This research has not been accepted by SafeMinds, which has continued to pursue the issue in the political and judicial arenas.[1][3][4][5]

Contents

Principals

Lyn Redwood, the president and co-founder of SafeMinds, is a nurse practitioner specializing in pediatrics and women's health care. Her son Will was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). Redwood is co-author of "Autism: A Novel Form of Mercury Poisoning",[6] and has testified before the United States House of Representatives Government Reform Committee, where she presented Mercury in Medicine: Are We Taking Unnecessary Risks?

Sallie Bernard, is the executive director and co-founder of SafeMinds, and a co-author of research papers on the links between vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders. Her son Bill was diagnosed with autism in 1993. She was a member of the panel that issued a 2007 federally-funded study that found no link between thimerosal exposure and neurological problems, but she did not agree with the findings.[7]

Liz Birt was a corporate, tax and health care attorney and lobbyist and a co-founder SafeMinds.

Evidence of Harm

Several members of SafeMinds are discussed in the book Evidence of Harm (2004), by David Kirby.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Harris, Gardiner; Anahad O'Connor (2005-06-25). "On Autism's Cause, It's Parents vs. Research". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940CE3D7163AF936A15755C0A9639C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2009-06-01. 
  2. ^ Rutter M (2005). "Incidence of autism spectrum disorders: changes over time and their meaning". Acta Paediatr 94 (1): 2–15. doi:10.1111/j.1651-2227.2005.tb01779.x. PMID 15858952. 
  3. ^ Blakeslee, Sandra (2004-05-19). "Panel Finds No Evidence To Tie Autism To Vaccines". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/19/us/panel-finds-no-evidence-to-tie-autism-to-vaccines.html. Retrieved 2009-06-01. 
  4. ^ Desmon, Stephanie (2008-01-09). "Autism activists unmoved". Baltimore Sun. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-te.infocus09jan09,0,1363729.story. Retrieved 2009-06-01. 
  5. ^ Vedantam, Shankar (2009-02-19). "U.S. Court Finds No Link Between Vaccines, Autism". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/12/AR2009021201391_pf.html. Retrieved 2009-06-01. 
  6. ^ Bernard S, Enayati A, Redwood L, Roger H, Binstock T (2001). "Autism: a novel form of mercury poisoning" (PDF). Med Hypotheses 56 (4): 462–71. doi:10.1054/mehy.2000.1281. PMID 11339848. http://generationrescue.org/pdf/bernard.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-27. 
  7. ^ "Study Finds Brain Problems, Vaccines Not Linked". Washington Post (Associated Press). 2007-09-27. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/26/AR2007092602239.html. Retrieved 2009-06-01. 

External links