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| The text on this page has been removed by David Crowe because it contains material that is potentially libellous and has already been captured as evidence in a federal case by Christine Maggiore against the LA Country Coroner's office. | |||
| '''Christine Maggiore''' is an ] ] and ] (that is, a person who does not believe that ] is the cause of ]). She is the founder of ], an organization which questions "most common assumptions about HIV and AIDS".<ref name="AliveAndWell"> official organization page.</ref> | |||
| ] 18:56, 28 November 2006 (UTC) | |||
| Maggiore became a controversial figure following the death of her 3-year-old daughter, Eliza Jane Scovill, on ] ]. Maggiore had not taken medication to prevent transmission of HIV to her daughter, as she does not believe that HIV causes AIDS. Eliza Jane had never been tested for HIV. The ] ] concluded that Eliza Jane had died of ] as a result of untreated ]. However, a ] (and AIDS dissident) retained by Maggiore to review the autopsy report disagreed, stating that he believed Eliza Jane's death was due to an ] to ].<ref name="LATimesArticle">: Article from L.A. Times</ref> | |||
| ==History== | |||
| Born in ], Maggiore grew up in Southern California. After graduating with honors from Reseda High, she worked in advertising and marketing in ] until 1984. After traveling through ] and ] in 1984, she settled in ], where she lived from 1985 to 1987. In 1986, Maggiore started what became a multimillion dollar import/export clothing company, Alessi International, based in ]. In 1992, as part of a routine medical exam, Maggiore tested ]. | |||
| Following her diagnosis, Maggiore became involved in volunteer work for a number of AIDS charities, including AIDS Project Los Angeles, L.A. Shanti and Women at Risk. However, following some anomalous HIV test results (negative, positive and indeterminate) and subsequently an interaction with prominent ] ] in 1994, she began to question whether HIV did in fact cause AIDS. Maggiore came to believe that her positive test may have been due to ]s, ], or a common viral infection.<ref name="LATimesArticle"/> | |||
| In 1995, Maggiore left the clothing business to work as a freelance consultant for US government export programs. At the same time, she founded ], an organization designed to foster an environment where HIV-positive people can feel free to openly discuss their health decisions, including decisions to avoid HIV medications for themselves or their children.<ref name="AliveAndWell"/><ref name="LATimesArticle"/> Maggiore herself drew criticism for ] her children;<ref name="primetime"></ref> breast feeding has been proven to increase the risk of ] of HIV,<ref>{{cite journal | author = Nduati R, John G, Mbori-Ngacha D, Richardson B, Overbaugh J, Mwatha A, Ndinya-Achola J, Bwayo J, Onyango F, Hughes J, Kreiss J | title = Effect of breastfeeding and formula feeding on transmission of HIV-1: a randomized clinical trial. | journal = JAMA | volume = 283 | issue = 9 | pages = 1167-74 | year = 2000 | id = PMID 10703779}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author = Tess B, Rodrigues L, Newell M, Dunn D, Lago T | title = Infant feeding and risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 in São Paulo State, Brazil. São Paulo Collaborative Study for Vertical Transmission of HIV-1. | journal = J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr Hum Retrovirol | volume = 19 | issue = 2 | pages = 189-94 | year = 1998 | id = PMID 9768630}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author = Watts D | title = Management of human immunodeficiency virus infection in pregnancy. | journal = N Engl J Med | volume = 346 | issue = 24 | pages = 1879-91 | year = 2002 | id = PMID 12063373}}</ref> although this conclusion has not been accepted by many AIDS dissidents. | |||
| In a 2005 article in the ], Maggiore claimed to be in excellent health without taking ], and despite being diagnosed with a cervical condition that would qualify her for an AIDS diagnosis.<ref name="LATimesArticle"/> Maggiore authored an article entitled ''My Bout of So-Called AIDS'', expressing the fear and frustration of experiencing three conflicting ] results. | |||
| Maggiore states that her husband and partner, filmmaker Robin Scovill, tests repeatedly negative despite what Maggiore describes as "a decade of normal, latex-free relations", as does their son Charlie, born in 1997.<ref name="primetime"/><ref name="LATimesArticle"/> | |||
| ==Death of Eliza Jane== | |||
| Christine Maggiore declined to take ] drugs or other measures to prevent ] of HIV during her pregnancies. Antiretroviral drugs, along with other interventions, have been proven to reduce the risk of mother-to-child transmission of HIV,<ref>Mofenson, LM, and the Committee on Pediatric AIDS. . Pediatrics 2000; 106(6).</ref> although this conclusion is not accepted by AIDS dissidents. Maggiore also ] her children, despite the fact that breast-feeding can also transmit HIV from mother to child. Her youngest daughter, Eliza Jane, was never tested for HIV, nor did she receive any of the recommended childhood vaccines.<ref name="LATimesArticle"/> Maggiore discussed her beliefs as an AIDS dissident on ] in March 2005, stating that "...our children have excellent records of health. They've never had respiratory problems, flus, intractable colds, ear infections, nothing. So, our choices, however radical they may seem, are extremely well-founded."<ref name="LATimesArticle"/> | |||
| ===Illness and death=== | |||
| Several weeks after this interview, in April 2005, Eliza Jane became ill with a runny nose. She was seen by a physician from the family's pediatric practice, who documented a normal physical exam. Several days later, Maggiore took Eliza Jane to see another ], Dr. Jay Gordon, who felt she had a mild ear infection.<ref name="LATimesArticle"/> Reportedly, Gordon was aware of Maggiore's HIV status,<ref name="LATimesArticle"/> but did not have Eliza Jane tested for HIV and was not concerned about ]. | |||
| When Eliza Jane failed to improve, Maggiore took her to see Dr. Philip Incao, a ] practitioner and board member of Maggiore's dissident organization '']''. Incao stated that Eliza Jane appeared "mildly ill... no way I considered her in danger... she did not act as a patient acts if she's severely ill or in danger."<ref name="primetime"/> On ] ], Incao prescribed ] for a presumed ]. | |||
| The following day, Eliza Jane became lethargic and vomited several times. While Maggiore was on the phone to Dr. Incao, Eliza Jane collapsed and stopped breathing.<ref name="LATimesArticle"/> She was rushed by ambulance to Valley Presbyterian Hospital in ]. Physicians attempted to rescusitate Eliza Jane, but were unsuccessful; she was pronounced dead at 5:40 AM on ] ].<ref name="autopsy"></ref> | |||
| ===Cause of death=== | |||
| An ] was performed. The ] ] found that Eliza Jane was severely ], consistent with a chronic illness, and that she had had pronounced ] of her ] and other lymphatic organs. Examination of her lungs showed infection with '']'', a common ] in people with AIDS. The post-mortem examination of Eliza Jane's ] showed changes consistent with HIV encephalitis; protein components of the ] virus itself were identified in Eliza Jane's brain tissue via ].<ref name="autopsy"/> | |||
| Based on the clinical information, the immunohistochemical documentation of HIV in Eliza Jane's brain, the evidence of pronounced immunosuppression, and the isolation of the opportunistic ] ''Pneumocystis jiroveci'' from Eliza Jane's lungs, the coroner concluded that Eliza Jane had died of ] in the setting of advanced AIDS.<ref name="autopsy"/> This conclusion was described by the coroner as "unequivocal".<ref name="primetime"/> | |||
| Maggiore rejected the coroner's conclusion, ascribing it to political bias and attacking the personal credibility of the coroner, Dr. James Ribe.<ref name="justiceforej">, website maintained by David Crowe of the Alberta Reappraising AIDS Society, accessed ] ].</ref> Maggiore retained a board-certified ], Dr. Mohammed Al-Bayati, to review the autopsy report. Dr. Al-Bayati holds a ] in comparative pathology; he is not a ], nor is he board-certified in human pathology;<ref name="cv">, accessed ] ].</ref> he does not believe that HIV causes AIDS.<ref>Dr. Mohammed Al-Bayati's home page, at www.whale.to/a/bayati1.html, currently spam-blocked by Misplaced Pages. Accessed ] ].</ref> | |||
| Dr. Al-Bayati released a report describing his conclusion that Eliza Jane had not died from AIDS or PCP, but from an ] to ].<ref name="abreport">, accessed ] ].</ref> Maggiore embraced Dr. Al-Bayati's conclusion that a reaction to amoxicillin was responsible, stating, "I believe the unfortunate irony in this situation is that the one time that we were asked to and that we complied with mainstream medicine, we inadvertently gave our daughter something that took her life."<ref name="primetime"/> | |||
| Critics have dismissed Al-Bayati's report as both biased and medically unsound.<ref name="gdotcom">, accessed ] ].</ref><ref name="Bennett">, accessed ] ].</ref> Both the ] and ] consulted independent experts in pathology about Eliza Jane's case; these experts agreed unequivocally with the coroner's conclusion that AIDS and PCP were the cause of death, and rejected Dr. Al-Bayati's report.<ref name="LATimesArticle"/><ref name="primetime"/> | |||
| ==Criticism and controversy== | |||
| Following Eliza Jane Scovill's death, Maggiore's beliefs, as well as her refusal to take medication to prevent transmission of HIV to her children and her refusal to have her child tested for HIV, have become points of controversy. Maggiore holds fast to her belief that HIV does not cause AIDS, and that Eliza Jane died of a reaction to amoxicillin.<ref name="justiceforej"/> Maggiore has also described much of the major journalistic coverage of her story as biased or inaccurate.<ref name="justiceforej"/> She submitted a letter to the L.A. Times alleging factual errors and omissions in their articles on Eliza Jane; the Times did not print the letter, stating that "If facts in an article are wrong, a correction would be published. However, no correction is warranted in this case."<ref>, accessed ] ].</ref> | |||
| Others point to the weight of evidence, which suggests that Eliza Jane acquired AIDS from Maggiore ]ly or via breast feeding, that Eliza's HIV infection might have been prevented had Maggiore taken antiretroviral drugs or avoided breast feeding, that Eliza Jane's death was due to complications of AIDS, and that her death may have been preventable with proper medical care.<ref name="LATimesArticle"/><ref name="primetime"/><ref name="Bennett"/> Eliza Jane's death has been described as a concrete example of the human harm that can result from ] beliefs such as ]. Speaking at the 16th ], Dr. John Moore argued: | |||
| <blockquote>... infants whose HIV infected mothers listen to AIDS denialists never got the chance to make their own decisions. The Maggiore case received wide publicity. Christine Maggiore is a person who’s proselytized against the use of antiretrovirals to prevent HIV/AIDS. She’s a classic AIDS denialist, and she gave birth to a child who died at age three late last year of an AIDS-related infection. The coroner’s report clearly reports that the child died of AIDS. That was another unnecessary death.<ref>, presented at the 16th annual International AIDS Conference, accessed ] ].</ref></blockquote> | |||
| Maggiore's inclusion as an exhibitor at the 13th ] in ], ] has been criticized by AIDS activists.<ref></ref> | |||
| The journalist and ] ] wrote an article in June 2006 in the independent paper ''Los Angeles City Beat'', arguing Maggiore's case and alleging incompetence, ], and coverups on the part of the coroner, the mainstream AIDS community, the mainstream media, and the medical community.<ref>, accessed ] ].</ref> | |||
| ===Legal ramifications=== | |||
| The death of Eliza Jane was investigated by the ] and the Los Angeles Department of ] as a possible case of medical neglect or ].<ref name="LATimesArticle"/> On ] ] the LA County district attorney's office announced that it would not be filing charges against Christine Maggiore.<ref name="latimesfollowup">, article in the L.A. Times, published 16 September 2006. Accessed 5 October 2006.</ref> | |||
| In September 2006, the Medical Board of California has filed charges of ] against Dr. Paul Fleiss, Eliza Jane's pediatrician, due to his failure to test Eliza Jane for HIV (or document her parents' refusal of testing), his failure to counsel Maggiore to avoid breast-feeding given the risk of transmitting HIV, and similar violations of standard medical practice in Fleiss' care of a second HIV-positive child.<ref name="latimesfollowup"/> | |||
| ==References== | |||
| <div class="references-small"><references/></div> | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| *, a site defending Christine Maggiore, maintained by David Crowe of the Alberta Reappraising AIDS Society. | |||
| * An ABC News Primetime special, broadcast on ] ]. | |||
| *: LA Times article, accessed ] ]. | |||
| * | |||
| * dated ] ], retrieved ] ]. | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Revision as of 18:56, 28 November 2006
The text on this page has been removed by David Crowe because it contains material that is potentially libellous and has already been captured as evidence in a federal case by Christine Maggiore against the LA Country Coroner's office.
DavidRCrowe 18:56, 28 November 2006 (UTC)