Author of "Autism's False Prophet" Gets Death Threats From Anitvaccine Crusaders

Talk about unhealthy behavior. Dr. Paul Offit, a highly respected pediatrician and the chief of infectious diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, has received numerous death threats from those who are outraged by his book that claims there is no link between childhood vaccines and autism.

In recent years, the debate over vaccines and autism, which began in fear and confusion, has hardened into anger. As Dr. Offit's book details, numerous studies of thimerosal, measles virus and other alleged autism triggers in vaccines have been conducted, and hundreds of children with diagnoses of autism have undergone what he considers sham treatments and been "cured." Both sides insist that the medical evidence backs them.

Dr. Offit's book has been widely endorsed by pediatricians, autism researchers, vaccine companies and medical journalists who say it sums up, in layman's language, the scientific evidence for vaccines and forcefully argues that vulnerable parents are being manipulated by doctors promoting false cures and lawyers filing class-action suits.

For more on this highly charged topic, read this article by Donald G. McNeil in the NYTimes.