Being a Playboy Playmate is probably not the most relevant public thing Jenny McCarthy ever did, but it could be the most harmless. In private, Ms. McCarthy is the mother of a son named Evan, who is autistic. In that role, she deserves nothing less than our empathy, support, and compassion.
That role, however, has led her down another public path, one that has the potential to cause great harm, and for which she deserves no small amount of scorn. Ms. McCarthy is convinced, in defiance of all logic and evidence, that her son’s autism was caused by normal childhood vaccinations, and has become a vocal crusader in that very dangerous cause.