Cyber-Slapp

WSJ - Best of the Web ^ | 4-11-08 | James Taranto

[SeafoodGumbo]

Kathleen Seidel is a New Hampshire mother of two. She runs a blog, Neurodiversity.com, about autism--a topic of special interest to her as one of her children had an "autistic spectrum diagnosis." There is a theory that thimerosal, a preservative formerly used in vaccines, causes autism. Seidel has written skeptically of that theory, and of the trial lawyers who have sought to cash in on it.

[SALChamps03]

There are some who are trying to cite the fact that the federal government settled a case about the vaccines and the alleged link to autism as “proof” of the link. A court case isn’t science.

[Bommer]

I would think that the easiest way to prove this is to do a comparision study against other countries where preventive vaccines are not used or required and the autism ratio vs. our country.

[LeeW]

The point to bear in mind is that this subpoena has nothing to do with the lawsuit in which it was issued. The wrongdoing complained of in the lawsuit was a shot administered in 1994, which may have contained a mercury preservative. The causes of action are Design Defect and Breach of Warranty occurring in 1994. The Amended Complaint specifically alleges that the plaintiff got this shot in reliance on information provided by the pharmaceutical company to her and her provider in 1994. There is no allegation that she relied on anybody else, especially not Ms. Seidel or anyone else on the Internet.

The information demanded by the subpoena is basically every piece of paper Ms. Seidel has touched from 2004 through the present. There is no possibility that this will provide evidence as to whether there was a design defect, false or incomplete disclosure, or breach of warranty in 1994.

That is why this case is so offensive: it is purely and simply an attempt to intimidate Ms. Seidel. Arguments about whether autism is actually caused by mercury are beside the point in this case.