The NIH plans to create a registry to track Americans with autism, following controversial remarks by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. about autism being a 'preventable disease.' The initiative aims to integrate diverse health data from various sources, raising concerns about privacy and consent, especially regarding sensitive information accessible to multiple outside researchers. Kennedy's statements have been criticized for their inaccuracies and eugenic overtones, further complicating the dialogue around autism and its treatment. Questions remain regarding data security and participant consent in these studies.
Launched under the guise of streamlining healthcare information, this announcement comes just a week after Kennedy declared in an alarming and inaccurate speech that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will, under his leadership, embark on a quest to discover the 'cause' of autism.
The allegedly brainwormed political scion added that children who live with autism will 'never pay taxes' or 'hold a job' - inaccurate statements that raised the hackles of autism advocates who called that rhetoric eugenicist.
As CBS News reports, NIH director and COVID truther Jay Bhattacharya told councillors that the studies, and the so-called 'disease' registry that will be integrated into them, will glean data from a wide range of sources including pharmacies, Veterans Affairs, private insurance companies, and - perhaps most invasively - data from smart watches and fitness trackers.
Initially, RFK Jr. vowed to have discovered the cause of autism by September - but Bhattacharya was forced to walk back that.
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