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Washington, DC, Nov. 27 -/E-Wire/-- On Monday, Department of Justice 
lawyers asked a federal court “task master” to withhold from the American 
public documents on hundreds of lawsuits filed by parents of injured children 
claiming mercury-induced autism resulting from childhood vaccines.  Autism and 
mercury advocacy groups expressed outraged at this legal maneuver by the Bush 
Administration to conceal evidence linking the mercury preservative in 
childhood vaccines with autism. 

"This cover-up attempt by the Bush Administration at the apparent behest of Eli 
Lilly and others is appalling," said Michael Bender director of the Mercury 
Policy Project. "All parents - not just those with autistic children - have the 
right to be informed about exposure risks from mercury that may affect their 
children. We have to ask: what are in these documents that they are so 
desperately trying to hide and suppress?"

The groups questioned the Bush Administration’s motivation and apparent close-
knit ties to the drug industry.  The primary beneficiaries of sealing the 
records are manufacturers who added thimerosal to their vaccines, and, in 
particular, Eli Lilly, the developer of thimerosal. Lilly's chairman, president 
and CEO, Sidney Taurel, was recently given a coveted seat on the president's 
Advisory Council on Homeland Security and Mitch Daniels, former president of 
Lilly's North American operations, is now the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget in the Bush Administration. The pharmaceutical industry 
as a whole, and Lilly in particular, were major donors during the last 
elections, contributing around $14 million.

 Safe Minds and the Mercury Policy Project believe that corrective action is 
needed.  "We want Congress to investigate why the Bush Administration is 
bending over backwards to help thimerosal vaccine makers and Eli Lilly to the 
point that they would grant them total immunity from civil action. We didn’t 
let ‘Big Tobacco’ of the hook, why are we letting the drug makers?” said  Lyn 
Redwood, president of Safe Minds. “Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) has 
requested an explanation from the Bush White House, and we call on Congress to 
conduct a thorough investigation."

The US government legal action comes on the heels of last week's 11th hour 
insertion of a rider to the Homeland Security Act, apparently at the request of 
the Bush White House.   The provision’s intention is to unilaterally deprive 
parents of autistic children of their right to bring civil action against the 
thimerosal-based vaccine manufacturers and Eli Lilly in Federal Court.

Safe Minds and the Mercury Policy Project are asking Members of Congress to 
repeal the thimerosal liability shield provision from the Homeland Security 
Act, a step supported publicly by several Republican and Democratic 
legislators. Both organizations are in favor of the bipartisan Burton-Waxman 
legislation to reform the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Act. 

The Mercury Policy Project and Safe Minds are non-profit organizations 
dedicated to reducing and eliminating mercury exposure and improving children's 
health and environmental outcomes through the elimination, treatment, and 
scientific investigations of mercury, regardless of its source, including 
thimerosal in medical products.

/SOURCE: 

Mercury Policy Project

-0- 

11/27/2002 

/CONTACT: 

Michael Bender, Mercury Policy Project,  802-223-9000, Lyn Redwood, Safe Minds, 404-932-1786, Sallie Bernard, Safe Minds, 970 429-1460, Peter Collins, Rowland Communications, 908 244-9916/ 

/WEB SITE: 

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