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NEWS EXTRA: Annabel Ferriman London mayor attacked for doing "irreparable damage" on MMR BMJ 2002; 325: 66c [Full text]

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When resistance becomes a duty

Gurli Bagnall   (15 July 2002)

When resistance becomes a duty 15 July 2002
Gurli Bagnall, Patients' Rights Campaigner Send response to journal: Re: When resistance becomes a duty	Anthony Barton, a doctor and lawyer specialising in pharmaceutical litigation, said, “…it is a fundamental rule of natural justice that where there is pecuniary interest, there is a presumption of bias.” That this is so, was demonstrated during the annual meeting of the BMA. According to Ms. Ferriman’s article, there appears to have been some unattractive foot stamping and tantrum throwing because the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, had declared publicly he would not allow his baby to have the MMR injection. It was certainly a busy meeting for despite the incongruity, the subject of abandoning the system of financial incentives for doctors who meet the MMR immunisation target was also raised. Further, a motion was passed “calling on the BMA’s board of science to produce a report looking at the advantages and disadvantages of compulsory immunisation for all children.” In a climate where even medical journals cannot guarantee that the authors of the papers they publish do not have conflicts of interest, the motion might be considered ill advised: “When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes a duty.” (Chris Trotter - New Zealand political commentator and unionist.) Gurli Bagnall, Patients' Rights Campaigner, New Zealand