When scientists set out to test a hypothesis they come up with a research plan. That plan is supposed to be followed, and if for some reason it is not, there must be an explanation of why not. It is one of the basic tenets in science. You show EVERYTHING. You do not CONCEAL DATA. If there is a hell for scientists, this is the sin which sends you to the very lowest regions.

In 2001, a group at the CDC, headed by Dr. Frank DeStefano, and including Dr. William Thompson, Dr. Marshalyn Yeargin-Allsopp, Dr. Tanya Karapurkar Bhasin, and Dr. Coleen Boyle planned to test the hypothesis that the earlier administration of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) shot was linked to an increase in autism rates. This research was prompted by the work of Dr. Wakefield and his colleagues, suggesting a link between autism and MMR shots, and his call for additional research to answer the question. The CDC scientists came up with that plan and recorded it in a document dated September 5, 2001, but did not follow it because of troubling findings among certain groups.

If these claims are shown to be true, we will be looking at nothing less than the greatest crime committed in the history of our republic, and a dark page in science which will be remembered for centuries to come.

The allegations are horrifying, not just for the millions of families who deal with autism on a daily basis, but for the picture it paints of a government agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), devoid of any shred of scientific integrity or what we once used to call "honor" in this country.

Dr. Brian Hooker, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, and attorney James Moody announced today they have sent a complaint by Federal Express to Dr. Harold Jaffe, Associate Director for Science at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as Dr. Don Wright, Acting Director of the Office of Research Integrity at the Department of Health and Human Services, claiming research misconduct in the 2004 paper, "Age at First Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccination in Children with Autism and School-Matched Control Subjects: A Population-Based Study in Metropolitan Atlanta," which was subsequently published in the journal, Pediatrics.

In the eighteenth century, the attorney William Murray, in a case which sought to outlaw slavery in England stated it succintly, "Let justice be done, though the heavens may fall." With apologies to William Murray, a research plan in science should come with a similar warning, "Let science be done, though the heavens may fall" (or public health and pharmaceutical company profits be thrown into chaos.)

Two specific groups were the subject of this concealment: African-American males, and a group the CDC termed "isolated autism" (children with no co-morbid developmental disorder such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, hearing or vision problems, epilepsy, or birth defect) or what the rest of the honest world would generally call "normally developing children."

For the African-American males, this was the increased risk of autism by earlier administration of the MMR vaccine:

-- MMR vaccination after 36 months - 1.0 risk of autism. (The rate of autism at that time.)

-- MMR vaccination prior to 36 months - 3.36 fold increase in the risk of autism.

For the "isolated autism" group (normally developing children), this was the increased risk of autism by earlier administration of the MMR vaccine:

MMR vaccination after 36 months - 1.00 risk of autism.

MMR vaccination prior to 36 months - 3.86 fold increase in the risk of autism.

In the data it was shown that the children at greatest risk in both subgroups were those children vaccinated by 18 months, demonstrating a clear trend that the earlier the MMR vaccination, the higher the risk of autism. The withholding of this information also impacted those seeking compensation for their vaccine-injured children in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, or what the rest of the world would call "obstruction of justice." It's like a prosecutor failing to turn over a key piece of evidence which exonerates a murder suspect, then saying nothing when the defendant goes to the electric chair. But in this case, the alleged wrong wasn't against just one individual, but an entire generation of children and their families.

If these allegations are proven true, we will be looking at scientific misconduct of the very highest order. It is difficult to come up with words to describe such behavior. How can scientists committed to "public health" be so comfortable with concealing such important data? It seems we will need to come up with a new word to describe such conduct. Even tyrants and dictators who kill and main millions claim to commit their heinous acts in the name of their people, their clan, an ideology, or their family. What we have here is a willingness to betray the entire human race.

Perhaps the words of the conspirators themselves are what we should place on their tombstones, or the historical account of them which will be left for future generations to read, and to consider when their courage falters in the face of troubling findings. The statement of Dr. William Thompson on the concealment of data about the effect on African-American males might be one that we include:

I regret that my co-authors and I omitted statistically significant information in our 2004 article published in the journal Pediatrics. The omitted data suggested that African American males who received the MMR vaccine before age 36 months were at increased risk for autism. Decisions were made regarding which findings to report after the data were collected, and I believe that the final study protocol was not followed.

Maybe we don't need to invent new words. Those who read such accounts in the future will know exactly how much these scientists were committed to the "public health."

Please help award-winning Autism Media Channel make this story into a documentary.

You can read the entire complaint and accompanying documents HERE

Kent Heckenlively is a Founding Contributing Editor to Age of Autism and co-author with Dr. Judy Mikovits of Plague: One Scientist's Intrepid Search for the Truth about Human Retroviruses and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Autism, and Other Diseases. Release date is November 18, 2014. Visit his website at Plague The Book. You can pre-order the book HERE.