Dear Editor,
I have been a member of AAPS for a number of years now, but have never attended a meeting. I, like many others I am sure, support your efforts from the sidelines.

I just wanted you to know I especially appreciate your strong position on the immunization issue and the resolution which was passed at the October 2000 meeting.

Immunizations contribute to the enormous and tragic increase in autism in this country and it is about time that physicians take a stand on this issue and defend the patient's right to choose.

Currently there are only 19 states in this country that allow a philosophical exemption to immunizations. All but two, West Virginia and Mississippi, allow a religious exemption.

It seems imperative that the first step for physicians who have not carefully studied this issue is to become informed. To that end, I publish a weekly newsletter that is free to subscribers. It focuses on many of the travesties the government and drug companies are imposing on the public. The web site is http://www.mercola.com and I have over 5,000 pages of articles that are available for review to help get physicians up to speed.

Joseph M. Mercola, MD
Schaumburg, IL

Correspondence originally published in the Medical Sentinel 2001;6(1);1-4. Copyright©2001 Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS).