# I'm pitting the Italian court that ruled that the MMR vaccine can cause autism. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 26, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-pitting-the-italian-court-that-ruled-that-the-mmr-vaccine-can-cause-autism/626386 "2012-06-26T20:27:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-pitting-the-italian-court-that-ruled-that-the-mmr-vaccine-can-cause-autism/626386/1 "2012-06-26T20:27:47Z")
> **[Italian court reignites MMR vaccine debate after award over child with](https://www.the-independent.com/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/italian-court-reignites-mmr-vaccine-debate-after-award-over-child-with-autism-7858596.html)** > >   > [@](#): > > Judges in Rimini, north-east Italy awarded the Bocca family Euros 174,000 (£140,000) after the Italian Health Ministry conceded the MMR vaccine caused autism in their nine-year-old son Valentino. Up to 100 similar cases are now being examined by Italian lawyers and experts suggest the case could lead to other families pursuing cases. I’ll also include the Italian Health Ministry in my pitting, assuming this article is correct, and I’ll include the author of this article for using the word “conceded” as if it were some kind of admission. This is going to stir about the anti-vaccine crowd and cause who knows how much damage to children’s health. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-pitting-the-italian-court-that-ruled-that-the-mmr-vaccine-can-cause-autism/626386/2 "2012-06-26T20:54:36Z")
“Stir up” not “stir about”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![vd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b19c9b/32.png) [@vd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vd)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-pitting-the-italian-court-that-ruled-that-the-mmr-vaccine-can-cause-autism/626386/3 "2012-06-26T21:19:25Z")
That’s seriously messed up. Looking at the article’s comments, the nutfest has already begun. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-pitting-the-italian-court-that-ruled-that-the-mmr-vaccine-can-cause-autism/626386/4 "2012-06-26T21:38:47Z")
Gods people are fucking stupid. ☹ Yeah, this is going to reignite the whole sorry mess, with more people refusing, out of ignorance and this kind of stupidity, to inoculate their children. Even if this were true, which there is zero evidence that it is, don’t people realize that there is going to be a tipping point where these diseases start to seriously come back? And don’t they realize what that will mean?? -XT ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-pitting-the-italian-court-that-ruled-that-the-mmr-vaccine-can-cause-autism/626386/5 "2012-06-26T21:49:04Z")
My God the comments! “All these so-called experts think x but here is _real_ expert who says y! Look it’s in a book and everything!” ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-pitting-the-italian-court-that-ruled-that-the-mmr-vaccine-can-cause-autism/626386/6 "2012-06-26T22:51:05Z")
I’m confused. What does “Judges in Rimini, north-east Italy awarded the Bocca family Euros 174,000 (£140,000) after the Italian Health Ministry conceded the MMR vaccine caused autism in their nine-year-old son Valentino” mean? That the Italian Ministry of Health is saying that the vaccine caused autism, or is “conceded” in that sentence a weird way of saying that they were the defendants in the case and lost? ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-pitting-the-italian-court-that-ruled-that-the-mmr-vaccine-can-cause-autism/626386/7 "2012-06-26T23:23:13Z")
[This report](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2160054/MMR-A-mothers-victory-The-vast-majority-doctors-say-link-triple-jab-autism-Italian-court-case-reignite-controversial-debate.html) has a little more detail about the case. It is known that some vaccines can cause some brain disorders at an extremely low rate. (like 1 in a million in the case of encephalitis and the MMR vaccine). The odds of even more serious problems from measles, mumps and rubella are significantly higher. But since there are known, rare adverse reactions to vaccines in some there is usually some legal remedy for compensating those rare victims. I don’t think that means they concede any hard evidence it was even the cause in this case, but just that they have no other explanation and it’s possible. > [@](#): > > Crucially, it came after Antonio Barboni, a doctor of forensic medicine and appointed by the judge to independently advise the court, wrote a report saying that ‘in the absence of any other pre-existing conditions’ it is a ‘reasonable scientific probability’ that Valentino’s autism can be ‘traced back to the administration of the MMR vaccine…by the health authority’. > > Dr Barboni’s findings were endorsed by two other eminent doctors who examined Valentino, investigated his medical background, and gave evidence to the court hearing. > > Judge Lucio Ardigo, awarding compensation to the family, agreed. He said it was ‘conclusively established’ that Valentino had suffered from an ‘autistic disorder associated with medium cognitive delay’ and his illness, as Dr Barboni stated, was linked to receiving the jab. > [@](#): > > … the judge in Valentino’s case said that because the Italian government’s medical authorities so strongly recommend child vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella, the state should take responsibility for the devastating damage to Valentino. > > The judge’s view has since been endorsed by Italy’s High Court of Law (the equivalent of our Supreme Court) which ruled that the Italian government must pay compensation to children damaged by any jabs given under the Ministry of Health auspices — even if they are not compulsory ones. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2012, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-pitting-the-italian-court-that-ruled-that-the-mmr-vaccine-can-cause-autism/626386/8 "2012-06-26T23:25:16Z")
Heck, courts find the innocent guilty, the guilty innocent, and all manner of nonsense. That is because they are not composed of intelligent people-just those who squawk the loudest.