Does This Supreme Court Ruling Pave the Way for Big Pharma's Unaccountability?

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a federal law bars lawsuits against drug makers over serious side effects from childhood vaccines.

By a 6-2 vote, the court ruled against Robalee and Russell Bruesewitz of Pittsburgh, who sued the drug maker Wyeth, in Pennsylvania state court for the health problems they claim their daughter, Hannah, now 19, suffered from a vaccine she received in infancy. The vaccine was made by Wyeth, now owned by Pfizer, Inc. The Bruesewitz's filed their lawsuit after the vaccine court rejected their claims for compensation.

According to the lawsuit, Hannah was a healthy infant until she received the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine in April 1992. Within hours of getting the DPT shot, the third in a series of five, she suffered a series of debilitating seizures. The suit says Hannah continues to suffer from residual seizure disorder.

The vaccine court has paid out more than $1.9 billion to more than 2,500 people who claimed a connection between a vaccine and serious health problems.

The drug companies worried that they would face a flood of lawsuits over the side effects of vaccines in the event of an unfavorable Supreme Court decision. They were especially concerned about claims from families of autistic children who say the vaccines, or mercury-based thimerosal, are linked to autism.

David Frederick, who represented the Bruesewitz family at the Supreme Court, said, "I'm disappointed for the families of victims of defectively designed vaccines, who now have no remedy at law for their injuries."

This makes me....well....I can't find the proper english to express my feelings about this subject. But I do have a word for the Supreme Court and Big Pharma:

ACCOUNTABILITY

n.

The state of being accountable; liability to be called on to render an account; the obligation to bear the consequences for failure to perform as expected; accountableness.

And I do have questions:

• Did the US Supreme Court just give Big Pharma and other giants a hall pass for products that could cause potential harm to it's people?

• Is any decision-making group interested in the health and welfare of our people?

Commentary:

FDA has become very interested in putting the manufacturers of nutritional supplements and natural products under the microscope, clearing the shelves of natural products and putting natural product manufacturers out of business....but not until natural products became a multi-billion dollar industry.

This ruling also makes me very suspicious regarding the ADA and dental amalgam issues, as they must fear lawsuits over those who have been injured by mercury poisoning. In February, 1994 Sweden announced a total ban on the use of mercury fillings in young adults. Denmark, Germany and Austria followed suit. Dental schools in Switzerland and Japan no longer teach amalgam use as the primary source of dental care.

When will the US step up to behave as a first world country again?