Stop Jenny McCarthy

1. Why doesn't the Stop Jenny McCarthy website offer treatment advice to parents?

The website's main purpose is to address misinformation. Keeping the website focus on the misinformation will ensure the website's information is clear and concise for visitors.

As well, each child with ASD is an individual and must be treated in person as such by a trained medical professional. The website's purpose is to address and counter McCarthy's misinformation about autism, and will not specifically recommend or endorse treatments of any kind.

The website was also not designed to confirm or deny anyone's condition.

2. Do the contributors to the website respect McCarthy's right to freedom of
     speech?

Freedom of speech works both ways. Nobody is calling for McCarthy to stop talking or writing books. However, the information McCarthy gives when she talks or writes does need to be addressed by someone. As on the main page, the contributors are concerned with the free platform McCarthy has been given in the media. It seems like nobody is willing to address what she is writing and talking about in these media appearances. Therefore, the website was developed to exercise "freedom of speech" by the contributors to address the misinformation McCarthy has been spreading about autism.

3. Does the average housewife know more about vaccines than the average MD?

While the Stop Jenny McCarthy website cannot address what the average housewife knows about vaccines, the website can present what the average MD knows about vaccines. Please review the vaccine information page to check out how vaccines are made and why. There are various websites making claims about vaccines, but it has been discovered that they lack factual information about how they are made, what they contain, and why. Jenny McCarthy does not understand why vaccines contain viruses. Is McCarthy an average housewife? Maybe not, but does the average housewife know why there are viruses in vaccines? MDs know why there are viruses in vaccines. The average housewife may know as well, and everyone else who doesn't know can find out.

4. Are the contributors to the Stop Jenny McCarthy website endorsing vaccination?

The website only presents information on vaccines and immunizations. Parents are free to make informed choices about their own children, and consult with MDs that offer immunizations about what is best for their children.

The vaccine information page offers information on the following topics:
    -What Vaccines Do
    -Why Vaccines Are Made
    -How Vaccines Cause Immunity
    -How Vaccines are Made
    -Why are Vaccine Combined?
    -Is There an Autism Epidemic?

5. Does Jenny McCarthy, as a parent of an autistic child, know more about
     treatments for autistic children than medical professionals?

Parents of autistic children will understandably know a lot about treatment options for their children. Their experiences are valid, for their children. ASD is a broad subject with many factors involved for every individual and family. Working with medical professionals to address very personal and individual needs is essential.

Other issues to address on this topic are those who have taken it upon themselves to find solutions on the internet. The internet is a breeding ground for entrepreneurs who can make any claim they wish, under the guise of freedom of speech, and to offer up any product that can be dreamed up. These products are not tested for safety or efficacy, and many have ingredients in them that aren't even listed on the label. There are no laws to govern the sales of products over the internet, and while some countries can attempt to ban dangerous products or their ingredients, it is impossible to stop the sales of products through the internet. It is strictly buyer beware, and there is little help available for consumers to find out what has really happened to people that have bought untested products over the internet. Anyone can put testimonials and miracle stories on the internet. There is no way of knowing if they are true or not.

Celebrity endorsements of products can be powerful, but how much does McCarthy really know about the products she endorses, like Threelac? Why did her son throw up and get diarrhea after ingesting it? She didn't send a sample to a laboratory to ensure what she was giving her son is safe, especially for long term use. That product has ingredients that have been banned in several countries for causing deaths. It also contains yeast powder. What is the proof that her son had too much yeast in his body, and now has less?

The final problem when considering only personal endorsements is that one person's experience is not the same as another's. Personal perceptions and experiences are very open to biases (PDF) that may skew what is really happening or not happening. One way to prove a product works is through independent studies (a company tests a product it hasn't made). Independent studies take a product and two groups of people. One group of people will get the product, and the other group will get a pill without the product's active ingredients. Nobody is told what pill they are given. The groups are tracked carefully for side effects and effects. If the product doesn't have any effect, or just has bad effects, then the study will show that very clearly. Positive effects can be pinpointed and proven in the group that took the product.

Choosing products for the treatment of children should be done with the help of medical professionals that can determine if a product has been tested to ensure it is safe and effective.

6. Is the Stop Jenny McCarthy website sponsored by the CDC, the FDA, or any
    pharmaceutical company? Do the contributors receive any type of money or
    bribes from anyone for making the Stop Jenny McCarthy website?

The Stop Jenny McCarthy website is not sponsored by anyone, and the contributors have only spent their own money on the costs associated with putting up a website. The website is strictly non-profit.