Summary

RFK Jr. is using private medical records to create a registry of people with autism in the United States.

The National Institutes of Health is helping to collect private medical records from government and commercial databases, including “prescription records from pharmacies, lab testing, and genomics records from the Department of Veterans Affairs and Indian Health Service, private insurance claims, and data from smartwatches and fitness trackers.”

Kennedy, a longtime critic of vaccination, has made the study of autism one of HHS’s primary goals. He has called autism “preventable” and claimed “he can find a cure for the condition by September.”

  • turnip@lemm.ee
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    21 hours ago

    He did run on finding the increased cause of autism in the youth. He said it was likely environmental toxins from corporations.

    So if hes right and hes not looking to murder people then we get statistics on where its occuring, and he would track it down like we did lead and things like that.

    Which there doesnt seem to be a counter-point to what hes doing, heres MSNBC who obviously hates Trump, and as she says theres not been clear answers yet. Which maybe with the data he is gathering there will be some insights:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0OxB7DzBGQ

    • Tryenjer@lemmy.world
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      11 hours ago

      He’s a cunt with half a brain, he’s the new Mengele. His delusions have already killed people, I don’t believe in his supposed good intentions.

      I believe it’s more likely that they (this administration, obviously) would change the meaning of the term “autistic” to mean any unwanted person. Basically, the Autist would become the new Jew under Trump’s regime.

      Autism has a genetic origin. Even with today’s gene therapy techniques, it would not be possible to alter the already formed brains of adults so that they would not be autistic.

      The simplest way to eliminate autism in the population would be to identify all autistic individuals and sterilize them or to genetically modify the zygotes or embryos of autistic individuals, but these, especially the first, have serious ethical implications and completely violate individual freedom. All this not to mention that we would be destroying part of the diversity of Humanity’s genotype, which could even have long term consequences that are difficult to predict.

    • CoolThingAboutMe@aussie.zone
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      16 hours ago

      RFK must be very upset with Trump letting coal-fired power plants pump arsenic and mercury into the atmosphere unrestricted then

      • turnip@lemm.ee
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        21 hours ago

        I dont like the guy, but clearly it is an issue according to this MSN interview. So if he can figure it out I’d like that he did, so that the corporation causing it is held to account. Or what, do we just wait until a democrat is the one to do the same thing?

        RFK is also talking about the obesity epidemic, specifically tying it to our food quality that many large donors really dont want to hear. I think some of these things seem sane, and I’m glad the republicans are starting to appreciate these ideologies.

        • AbsolutelyNotAVelociraptor@sh.itjust.works
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          20 hours ago

          Except, you know, autism can’t be cured and, you know, the uptick in cases is not because a raise in the numbers but a better diagnosis.

          If they spent that money and time in improving autistic people life quality instead of “curing” them, the world would be a much better place.

          • WaitThisIsntReddit@lemmy.world
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            6 hours ago

            Why are you so sure autism can’t be cured? Is “autism” even a narrow enough diagnosis to cure?

            I didn’t vote for trump. I don’t support rounding up autistic people. RFK is a maniac. Can we have civil discussion?

            • AbsolutelyNotAVelociraptor@sh.itjust.works
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              15 hours ago

              Because we are not ill. We have a differently wired brain. You can’t just rewire my synaptic connections in a neurotypical way. The only way to “cure” autism is by removing autistic people from the world and… I’m not gonna agree with such solution.

              I really hope you are asking this out of innocent ignorance, because the alternative would make you part of the problem and… there are words for you in that case, words that could probably get me banned.

              • SabinStargem@lemmy.today
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                7 hours ago

                I will speak for you, if you are willing.

                If people try to kill us, we will kill them. We will defend ourselves from genocide.

              • WaitThisIsntReddit@lemmy.world
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                6 hours ago

                I am ignorant about autism. I’m pretty sure humanity is ignorant about autism. There are people suffering degraded quality of life attributed to autism, is that not worth treating? Are people like Chrischan not ill or is that not related to autism?

            • Scott_of_the_Arctic@lemmy.world
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              15 hours ago

              Because whatever causes it, it’s a difference in synaptic connectivity that can’t be medicated or trained away. The only effective way to remove autism from society is removing autists from society and that’s exactly what rfk jr wants to do.

            • dickalan@lemmy.world
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              16 hours ago

              Are you trying to be a unhelpful walrus or is this just happening organically, can you actually add something of function or substance to the conversation of just being a little detracting asshole?

              • WaitThisIsntReddit@lemmy.world
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                6 hours ago

                I’m asking questions. I think just stating autism can’t be “cured” is a wild claim considering we barely understand what it is. Do I need to state my politics before asking questions or do you just immediately think I’m a trump loving maniac that is okay with rounding up all the autistic?

    • rottingleaf@lemmy.world
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      16 hours ago

      Yes, well, there are good statistics and studies on autism and it’s mostly genetic. A bug of some of our far ancestors being related enough to have kids, but not enough to avoid weird bugs. Like - some of the neanderthals were not eaten. And parts of their genes were kinda compatible to those of bog standard homo sapiens sapiens, but not entirely. Which mostly doesn’t show in humans, and when it does, it’s autism. Or green eyes. Or something like that. Point being - really nothing to do with environment.

      BTW, RFK Jr really with his manner of speech seems like a high-functioning autistic person, give or take. I wonder if he knows that you don’t have to hide in a room all day and smell and have problems talking at all to be that. I also wonder if he knows that his survival\camping interests too match that a lot.