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.”

  • WaitThisIsntReddit@lemmy.world
    112·
    5 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
      11·
      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.

      • WaitThisIsntReddit@lemmy.world
        1·
        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?

      • SabinStargem@lemmy.todayEnglish
        3·
        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.

    • Scott_of_the_Arctic@lemmy.world
      7·
      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
      3·
      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
        1·
        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?