Many parents believed that mercury-laced vaccines caused their child’s autism, but a special U.S. court ruled otherwise. The court found that there was no direct link between receiving the vaccination and autism.

With copious amounts of scientific research done on the subject, the court had a lot to go on. Inevitably, the court concluded that, “It was abundantly clear that petitioners’ theories of causation were speculative and unpersuasive.” Adding that, “the weight of scientific research and authority” was “simply more persuasive on nearly every point in contention.” And the evidence “is weak, contradictory and unpersuasive,” and “sadly, the petitioners in this litigation have been the victims of bad science conducted to support litigation rather than to advance medical and scientific understanding” of autism.

This ruling brings grim tidings to more than 5,500 families who have filed personal injury claims through the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. The attorneys for the families must show that thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative found in vaccines, more than likely caused their child to become autistic.

The controversy over vaccines has a lot of celebrity proponents. Jenny McCarthy, a television star and Playboy playmate, is one of them. McCarthy’s son is afflicted with autism and, in an attempt to spread awareness; she has done many interviews, most recently with CNN, regarding the connection between vaccines and autism.

Where it gets bothersome is with organizations like Kids Need Options With Vaccines (KNOW). They have a page on their website listing three ‘myths’ about vaccinations including “Vaccines are effective” as one of the myths. According to them, there is no proof vaccines help lower disease rates and that the only true way to do this is through improved hygiene and diet.

In Quebec City, a 15-year-old contracted meningitis in part because he refused the meningitis vaccine. Under Quebec law, people 14 and old have the right to refuse a vaccine without parental consent.

The decision by the court is refreshing. It is nice to know science can still triumph and mob rule is not always status quo. Autism is a challenging disease and it is almost a shame the parents were wrong in the sense that knowing the cause would allow us to change the way we inoculate our young and curtail autism. Nevertheless, they were wrong and the court’s decision puts aside claims by lawyers and their clients that may have hindered finding the true cause of autism and ending it.

Corri Fetman has brought a new degree of infamy to divorce law, and to her firm. A series of billboard promoting the firm Fetman, Garland & Associates Ltd., including one featuring Corri Fetman personally, have made quiet the splash in Chicago since they went up in April of 2007. The boards featured the tagline, “Life’s Short. Get a divorce.” Accompanied by risqué photos, the ads caused quite a stir, upsetting feminists, fellow lawyers, and community members.

John Ducanto, former president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, called the signs “grotesque,” and “undignified and offensive.” Ducanto was so outraged by the ads that he asked the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Committee of the Supreme Court of Illinois to sanction Fetman. The billboards were taken down thanks to action by 42nd Ward Alderman Burton Natarus, because Fetman had failed to apply for the appropriate permits.

Fetman, however, sees no problem with the signs, which initially went up in April of 2007. Indeed, a second batch, now featuring the tagline “Take Control. Get a Divorce,” are now displayed throughout Chicago. However, not only has Fetman put up these ads: She stars in them! Fetman is the woman in these ads, and the man accompanying her is her “personal trainer.” (No, Really).

Fetman has also, as of January 2008, appeared in Playboy Magazine, and begun writing a column titled the “Lawyer of Love” for the infamous men’s magazine. Fetman’s work with Playboy has drawn a good deal of criticism, but she stands by her decision, stating that she “shouldn’t be punished for having brains and a body.”

“It was the best time I ever had with my clothes on or off. This was a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity to pose for the premiere men’s magazine in the world,” Fetman says of the photo shoot for Playboy. The ads, which created quite a bit of stir initially, have caused significantly more attention for her firm. And while the first set drew the ire of the community, the second set, now with correct permits, have been able to stay up.

While Fetman may have caused quiet a stir, it remains that divorce in the United States has been declining since 1970. The divorce rate is still between 40 and 45 per cent in the US, (while only 37% of Canadian couples are likely to divorce, as of 2004) and Fetman’s firm is just another trying to capitalize on this particular phenomenon. While her ads and antics may make her colleagues wince, Fetman may take as much pleasure as she’d like in flaunting her body to advertise her completely-unrelated legal skills.

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