Richard Dawkins saw the measles outbreaks among the Orthodox Jews of Brooklyn and Rockland County, and Tweeted, "Religion poisons everything." Unfortunately for him, it's way more complicated than that.
Tag: religion
Ginger Taylor, MS dubiously invokes “religious freedom” to argue against vaccination
On the eve of Easter and Passover, Ginger Taylor, MS (the MS is in Dunning-Kruger, apparently) tried to invoke several religions to argue for the right not to vaccinate on religious grounds. As usual, it did not go well.
Another case of religion-inspired child neglect
Here we go again with yet another case of religion-inspired child neglect in which lack of medical care led to the death of a child. This time, however, the authorities actually appear to be ready to bring the hammer down on the parents.
Michigan Senate Bill 1055: Antivaccine fear mongering masquerading as “informed consent” about “fetal parts” in vaccines
Antivaxers frequently try to appeal to antiabortion activists by claiming "fetal parts" are used in vaccines. In Michigan, they're trying to enshrine such deceptive efforts into law in Michigan Senate Bill 1055, which would mandate "informed consent" regarding vaccines for which fetal cell lines are used to grow the virus. In reality, this would be misinformed consent and a strategy to frighten parents out of vaccinating.
Idaho: The capital of the US for religion-inspired medical neglect of children, thanks to the Followers of Christ
In the US, there is an unfortunate attitude that the parents own their children. When the parents are religious zealots belonging to a church like the Followers of Christ, which believes in prayer instead of medicine, the results are tragic. Unfortunately, we as a society value religious freedom more than children.
Quoth the antivaxer: “Vaccination is a religion.” Quoth Orac: “Nice projection, there.”
Levi Quackenboss is one of the more oblivious and obtuse antivaxers out there. She demonstrates this again with a clumsy post comparing vaccination to religion.
An uncomfortable question when you least expect it
When you're in an exam room with a patient, sometimes you're forced to contemplate uncomfortable questions.
Scientific medicine is "truly nonsense"? Orac says no!
Orac note: Congratulations on California and everyone who reads this blog who helped pass SB 277 to protect California’s children. Here’s hoping Governor Jerry Brown signs the bill! I had a big talk to give this morning that required a massive rewrite of my slide set last night; so there wasn’t time for the usual Insolence. Some of you might have seen a different version of this post elsewhere. Some of you might not. Either way, I hope you can enjoy! Two weeks ago, I attended the Center For Inquiry Reason for Change Conference, where I participated in a panel …
What’s the harm? A child dies a preventable death from an ear infection
A common question, rhetorical or otherwise, that skeptics are asked about alternative medicine is, “What’s the harm?” It’s seemingly an effective ploy for some modalities, so much so that years ago Tim Farley felt obligated to try to answer the question on a website (whatstheharm.net) that catalogues examples of the harm alternative medicine, supernatural and paranormal beliefs, and other pseudoscience do. After all, most homeopathy (at least anything diluted greater than around 12C, at least) is water, without any remaining remedy, effective or otherwise. On the other hand, some homeopathic remedies are adulterated, and some of the “less potent” (i.e., …
Why do doctors deny evolution?
Yesterday was a long day, starting in the operating room and finishing at a dinner reception for our visiting speaker today. As a result, when I arrived home, I was sawing the proverbial logs within five or ten minutes of hitting the couch, more or less without realizing it. I was going to just skip today, making it a rare weekday where I don’t provide you, my loyal readers, with a dose of the Insolence, be it Respectful or not-so-Respectful, to which you have become accustomed. But then I saw an article that reminded me of a topic that I …