September
30th
2008
It's ON!

This summer will remembered for a lot of things (ah, Real Girls Eat Meat) — but one of the more contentious was the debate on vaccines for children. It kicked off with Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey attending a “Green Our Vaccines” rally in D.C., followed by actress Amanda Peet slamming parents who do not follow standard child inoculation schedules, passionate debate, and then relative calm.
Until now.
Jenny McCarthy is firing back at Amanda Peet in a new interview in Spectrum Magazine. The 35-year-old actress and mother of an autistic child said, “(Peet) has a lot of [nerve] to come forward and be on that side, because there is an angry mob on my side, and I like the fact that I can say she’s completely wrong.” She added, “I look at (Peet) now and say to myself, ‘That was me before I had autism in my life,’ and until she walks in our shoes, she really has no idea.”
Oh, snap!
In addition, the national autism advocacy group Autism United is calling for a boycott of all of Amanda Peet’s movies. “We want to send a clear message to her,” says Executive Director John Gilmore. “Our community will not support the continued misinformation that is funneled into the media by organizations like ECBT and the American Academy of Pediatrics. We are not against vaccines, rather we are for safe vaccines. Until they understand that, we won’t back down. Ms. Peet’s comments are deplorable and an apology will not suffice. We applaud Jenny McCarthy’s continued efforts and for speaking up for our community.”
[Update: Welcome Scienceblogs readers! Welcome Age of Autism Readers! Yes, the below poll has been influenced by many different sites -- and as such, it serves as a very poor feedback item. As some have mentioned, the best course of action going forward is to scrap polling on a topic like this one in favor of comments only. Thank you all for your insights on this. I also want to thank those from both sides who are commenting respectfully and listening to what people have to say.]
What side do you believe is right? Jenny McCarthy or Amanda Peet?
- Amanda Peet (86%)
- Jenny McCarthy (14%)
Total Votes: 12,195

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