I have a confession. I’m a Law and Order:SVU junkie. Sad, I know.

So last night, Hilary Duff played an irresponsible Mom whose toddler has disappeared. They find out she stole a credit card, bought a shovel and tarp with it. She insists it was just to buy a gift for her father. The toddler is supposedly with a babysitter, that n one can find. They do their television “gotta solve the crime in under so many minutes” magic and discover little Sierra’s dead body buried in an old ababdoned lot.

Pretty cut and dried, right?

Wrong.

When they do the autopsy, they find that little angel Sierra died of encephalitis, brought on by………….measles. Seems she was too young for the MMR shot. THEN they suddenly discover a measles outbreak. So they go searching for patient 0.

When they find paient 0, his Mom has done research, made a choice and is firm about her choice. the attorney for teh “bad mom” decides to sue the city, who in turn decides to arrest the “good mom” for not vaccinating her child-the charge? Second degree murder.

I went blooming nuts. I screamed at my television. I threw a pillow at it. I ranted. I raved. I fumed.

They go through the trial and the “good mom” ends up defending her choice-they come at her like a pack of dogs for the “irresponsible choice she made that caused the death of another child”. It made me SO mad to wtch last night’s episode. It actually bantered the idea of making children get their shots, because by not getting shots, they “endanger” other children, putting them at risk for diseases and possibly even death.

They had the SVU’s doctor on the stand and she gave a brief list of very mild symptoms that are possible of side effects of the shot. I mean MILD. Totally downplayed the major potential side effects…swelling, soreness, possible mild fever….

Found a site that was created by a pediatrician…

http://www.whale.to/a/quak.html

Here’s the side effects they DIDN’T mention:

Local erythemas
Fever
Irritability
Tiredness
General rashes (acute urticaria)
Conjunctivitis
Arthropathies
Peripheral tremor
Cough and/or coryza
Post-vaccinal meningitis (aseptic meningitis)
Guillain-Barre syndrome
Brachial neuritis
Anaphylactic shock
Multiple sclerosis
Chronic arthritis

They don’t even go into all the side effects, of course. Autism IS caused by that stupid shot. My Mom cares for a family that’s been affected by autism following an MMR shot. My own children had severe reactions-and my Mother goes into anaphylactic shock. None of that was addressed. And then there’s the idea that the shot confers lifelong immunity.

I’ve had the full round of MMR. All the toddler shots, the “starting school booster” and the booster they give you when you are 12.

I have NO immunity to rubella. I’ve had measles-AFTER the shot. I’ve had mumps-AFTER the shot. NOW I have lifelong immunity.

I hate the political spin they put on that show. It just disgusted me. the “good mom” wins her case-they find her not guilty. The “bad mom and grandma” try to do a civil suit, and then decide to go and attack the woman personally. The “bad grandpa”(who really did love the little girl) races into the “good mom’s” home and holds a gun on her. She cries out “Please don’t shoot me.” and he says “Now you’ve kiled 2 people!” and kills himself right in front of her.

I won’t be watching Law and Order: SVU anymore. I wonder how many parents felt “guilty” this morning after watching that and raced out to get shots for their kids?