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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics Popular culture Religion

Why is the Church of Scientology helping antivaxers in a last ditch attempt to block passage of SB 276?

California SB 276, a bill to clamp down on bogus medical exemptions to school vaccine mandates, is nearing the finish line and looks likely to be passed into law soon. Why are Scientologists helping antivaxers in a last ditch effort to block its passage?

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Bad science Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

Rappin’ Hillary Simpson, #crazymothers, and #DearDoctor: Antivaxers blaming doctors for vaccinating children. Again.

Hillary Simpson created the Facebook group #crazymothers to co-opt the perception that the science-based world has of her and her fellow antivax mothers. Now, she’s cooked up a hashtag and social media campaign called #DearDoctor to encourage mothers to harass their child’s former pediatricians by writing letters blaming them for vaccinating and supposedly causing their children’s autism. Oh, and she does freestyle rap, too. Badly. Oh, so badly.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Popular culture Quackery Religion

The annals of “I’m not antivaccine,” part 28: New York S2994 and the disappeared

In response to measles outbreaks among the Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn and Rockland County, New York passed S2994, eliminating nonmedical exemptions to school vaccine mandates. This provoked a lawsuit and an offensive analogy that actually didn’t involve the Holocaust. So much for the protesters not being antivaccine.

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Naturopathy Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

The Supreme Court of Canada grants a new trial to the parents who let Ezekiel Stephan die

David and Collet Stephan were convicted in 2016 for failure to provide the necessities of life for their son Ezekiel Stephan, who died of bacterial meningitis after his parents treated him with natural remedies, supplements, and naturopathy. Unfortunately, as a result of their appeal, the Canadian Supreme Court has granted them a new trial. Predictably, they are claiming vindication. The verdict is nothing of the sort. The Stephans got off on a technicality, but this ruling will serve as propaganda for quacks for years to come.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience

Sherri Tenpenny and James Grundvig: Desperately denying that measles kills

Sherri Tenpenny and James Grundvig contort logic into pretzels to deny that low vaccine uptake is responsible for measles outbreaks in Samoa and Congo.