Sb 277 In The Media

The Representation of SB 277 in the Media A common myth spread amongst the public is that vaccines cause autism. Despite evidence disproving that, people still oppose vaccine laws because their fear of the government forcing their kids into getting vaccinated by unsafe drugs. ‘Vaccines Cause Autism’ was the headline of many articles when a falsified study was published in 1998 that provided fake evidence for a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism. This led to some people opposing SB 277, a bill that requires children to get certain vaccines in order to attend public schools. The idea of a connection between vaccines and autism was so rampantly spread by media news outlets that people remain ignorant and contribute to the perpetuation

She addresses her letter to religious leaders in order to rouse them to utilize their influence against SB 277. She clearly addresses religious leaders when she says, “Dear Pastors, Priests, Bishops, Rabbis, and Others” (Hayes). This isn’t a credible source because she cites untrue evidence, as seen in the quote “Autism is now1 in 50 children... There are many credible studies showing links between vaccines and the many chronic illnesses, developmental disabilities, and premature deaths that now plague American children, the most vaccinated children in the entire world“ (Hayes). Hayes claims that autism and other illnesses are caused by vaccines, despite trustworthy scientific evidence saying otherwise. This is a biased source because it is a website called “Age of Autism: Daily Web Newspaper of the Autism Epidemic.” Obviously the organization the author is apart of is strongly against autism so she exaggerates connections between autism and vaccines to further emphasize her objections against SB 277. Hayes attempts to appeal to emotions by comparing vaccination laws to the Holocaust. This is shown when she says, “ The Nuremberg Code was made to avoid such medical fascism from ever occurring again. The U.S. signed the Nuremberg Code, but is no longer abiding by it, as evidenced by vaccine mandates” (Hayes). The intended effect is to get the reader to sympathize with the author’s position, since the reader is likely to sympathize for the Holocaust. Hayes attempts to gain reader’s sympathy, but a critical reader is likely to question the soundness of her argument and legitimacy of her comparisons. In this case, the media is guilty in the perpetuation of misinformation as seen when the author purposely uses untrue information to support her argument. The author should not