'Eli Stone' To Premiere Amid Autism Controversy

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Jonny Lee Miller,George Michael,TV,TV One
 
 

FIRST PUBLISHED: January 30, 2008 5:35 PM EST
LAST UPDATED: January 30, 2008 6:50 PM EST

LOS ANGELES, Calif. --

The nation's largest pediatricians' group on Monday said ABC should cancel the first episode of a new series because it perpetuates the myth that vaccines can cause autism

ABC's new drama, "Eli Stone," debuts on Thursday. It features British actor Jonny Lee Miller as a prophet-like lawyer who in the opening episode argues in court that a flu vaccine made a child autistic. When it is revealed in court that an executive at the fictional vaccine maker didn't allow his own child to get the shot, jurors side with the family, giving them a huge award.

The show's co-creators say they're not anti-vaccine and would be upset if parents chose not to immunize their children after seeing the show.

But, said Dr. Renee R. Jenkins, president of the influential American Academy of Pediatrics, "A television show that perpetuates the myth that vaccines cause autism is the height of reckless irresponsibility on the part of ABC and its parent company, The Walt Disney Co."

"If parents watch this program and choose to deny their children immunizations, ABC will share in the responsibility for the suffering and deaths that occur as a result. The consequences of a decline in immunization rates could be devastating to the health of our nation's children," Jenkins said in a statement.

Greg Berlanti, a co-creator of the show, said the episode is fictional but designed "to participate in what is a national conversation" about a controversial subject. He said the boy who plays the autistic child has autism, but that the show's producers have no connection with advocates involved in the autism debate.

"We would be deeply upset" if parents opted against vaccination because of the episode, Berlanti said.

Marc Guggenheim, who helped create the show, said the first episode shows how a fictional company covered up a study that raised questions about its product, and that the message is really about "the downside of the corporatization of America."

Come back to AccessHollywood.com tomorrow to read about our exclusive set visit to "Eli Stone," and to read about how George Michael is changing the lives of co-stars Jonny Lee Miller and Loretta Divine.

Copyright 2009 by Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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