Synopsis of Maggiore's Primetime Live Appearance
I didn't have a chance to blog this, but Christine Maggiore appeared on ABC's Primetime Live last week. For those of you who may be new to the story, she's the HIV denier whose 3-year-old daughter, Eliza Jane, died of AIDS-associated pneumonia. Maggiore dismissed the coroner's report, and had her own, erm, "expert" do a second autopsy; Orac discussed those findings here.
Orac has a good summary of the Primetime Live appearance; I was busy making snacks for my daughter to take to school the next day while Maggiore was on, so I wasn't able to take good notes. The whole incident was so sad; they played parts of the 911 call, and as Orac notes, it seemed clear from the story that EJ was much sicker for a longer period of time than Maggiore had previously suggested. Additionally, as Orac mentioned, she wasn't even convinced when the reporter gave her the exact evidence she asked for: pathology slides that showed that Eliza Jane had pneumonia. It was heartbreaking to watch her talk about her daughter, and the love she had for her was clear. But the bottom line remains: she went against consensus medical advice, and took risks with the lives of her children. And the worst part is that she continues to encourage others to do the same. Maybe their children won't get the national attention that Eliza Jane did; maybe some have already died due to advice from Maggiore and others like her. I don't know, and to my knowledge, no good studies have been done investigating how HIV denial groups like hers affect the opinion of others on the issue of AIDS causation. I hope EJ's legacy will make some of those deniers at least think twice about what they may be doing, not only to themselves, but to those close to them.
Orac has a good summary of the Primetime Live appearance; I was busy making snacks for my daughter to take to school the next day while Maggiore was on, so I wasn't able to take good notes. The whole incident was so sad; they played parts of the 911 call, and as Orac notes, it seemed clear from the story that EJ was much sicker for a longer period of time than Maggiore had previously suggested. Additionally, as Orac mentioned, she wasn't even convinced when the reporter gave her the exact evidence she asked for: pathology slides that showed that Eliza Jane had pneumonia. It was heartbreaking to watch her talk about her daughter, and the love she had for her was clear. But the bottom line remains: she went against consensus medical advice, and took risks with the lives of her children. And the worst part is that she continues to encourage others to do the same. Maybe their children won't get the national attention that Eliza Jane did; maybe some have already died due to advice from Maggiore and others like her. I don't know, and to my knowledge, no good studies have been done investigating how HIV denial groups like hers affect the opinion of others on the issue of AIDS causation. I hope EJ's legacy will make some of those deniers at least think twice about what they may be doing, not only to themselves, but to those close to them.
