Over at Slate, Arthur Allen, who is following the hearings at the vaccine court, explores why he believes parents cling so tenaciously to the idea of an autism-vaccine link despite what he describes as a complete lack of scientific support. A summary:

1. Blaming vaccines has benefits to the parents. Victory in court could provide financial rewards, yes, but more importantly, finding a cause for autism gives hope for a cure. If vaccines caused damage that can be clearly identified, maybe that damage can be repaired.

2. True believers are under the influence of “confirmation bias”. This is a tendency to search for data that support one’s preconceived notions and avoid or ignore data that contradicts them.

Systems of belief such as religion and even scientific paradigms can lock their adherents into confirmation biases. And then tidbits of fact or gossip appear over the Internet to shore them up. There’s a point of no return beyond which it’s very hard to change one’s views about an important subject.

So no matter how many times a parent who subscribes to an autism-vaccine link reads or hears that another study has debunked the theory, the information is not going to make a dent.

3. The subject matter is highly technical and most parents don’t have the background to discern which conclusions are reasonable and while are suspect. They tend to “go with their gut” and trust that the medical outsider - the maverick doctor or alternative treatment guru - is being more straightforward with them than government health agencies.

Mr. Allen also notes that faulty research, subsequent widespread media coverage, and questionable advocacy tactics have made it easier for parents to buy into to the autism-vaccine theory, despite all evidence to the contrary.

As for how the outcome of the hearings will affect the true believers, Mr. Allen notes, “If and when the vaccine court rules against Michelle Cedillo, the 12-year-old autistic girl at the center of these first hearings, it won’t change their minds.”

Stay tuned.

Posted by MommaSteph.