MMR doctor Andrew Wakefield fixed data on autism

I think there are a few things keeping this myth alive.

For starters it's timing. The problems present at a certain time in a childs development, and it happens to coincide with the suggested timing for the MMR vaccine. When I was in nursing school we were always warned that drawing conclusions based on speculation and odds will bite you in the butt.

As a non-medical lamans explanation,

Just because the dog is barking, and there is someone at the door, it may not be why the dog is barking.

Second is the fact that due to modern medicine more pregnancies are coming to term. Before all the advances in pre natal and neonatal care these babies either died or were never even born.

I look at Knute the polar bear cub in Germany.

The mother rejected him. The zoo vets all said he was healthy and pushed to raise him artificially.

Knute dropped dead at the age of 4. His mother may well have sensed that he wouldn't live, but we thought we knew better.

And finally, the medical machine itself.

Well all know that Big Pharma will often cut corners to make a fast buck, if you ever meet a Thalidomide baby you'll understand.

So we don't trust them, and because they know directly employ most doctors to get around those pesky gifting laws, we don't really trust our doctors either.