(Reposted from 9/18/15)
Last night Donald Trump said that vaccines cause autism. It's important to remind you of a few things.
1) They don't.
2) The notion that autism is worse than a deadly disease reveals deeply ableistic ideology.
3) See point #1.
Here's a link to the Autistic Self Advocacy Network's statement:
While no link exists between autism and vaccines, of greater concern is the willingness of those who promote this theory to suggest that exposing children to deadly diseases would be a better outcome than an autistic child. Vaccinations do not cause autism – but the use of autism as a means of scaring parents from safeguarding their children from life-threatening illness demonstrates the depths of prejudice and fear that still surrounds our disability. Autism is not caused by vaccines – and Autistic Americans deserve better than a political rhetoric that suggests that we would be better off dead than disabled.
