Elizabeth "Liz" Ann Birt (10 August 1956, Kansas City, Missouri – 28 December 2005)^[1] was a corporate, tax and health care attorney and lobbyist. She was a co-founder of the Coalition for Safe Minds, the founder of Medical Interventions for Autism, a founding board member of the National Autism Association, a co-founder and board member of A-CHAMP, and a principal author of Mercury in Medicine, the 2003 staff report released by the House Government Reform Committee which claimed that the thiomersal used to preserve vaccines was toxic.

Contents 1 Education and early career 2 Matthew 3 Autism advocacy 4 See also 5 References

[edit] Education and early career

In 1992, Birt graduated from DePaul University School of Law and worked for years as an insurance underwriter. She began her legal career as an assistant general counsel to Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, where she specialized in health care tax litigation and contract disputes.

[edit] Matthew

In 1996, Birt's son Matthew was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder, an autism spectrum disorder. Within seven blocks of her suburban Chicago home in Wilmette, Illinois, five other children were also diagnosed in what Birt believed is an emerging autism epidemic. "It's just rampant," Birt said.^[2]

This experience led Birt to seek out the cause of Matthew's disorder and to advocate for the rights and care of children with autism spectrum disorders.^[3] Birt often spent 60 hours or more in a week researching autism or lobbying for more resources to fight developmental disabilities.

According to Birt, Matthew developed normally until he was about 15 months old, when he could count to ten and say about 30 words. Then he gradually developed autistic symptoms, which Birt attributed to two vaccinations her son received on the same day. In the following months, he began to act deaf, stopped talking, and instead spun in circles, stared at lights and ignored his family.^[2]

[edit] Autism advocacy

Birt became an active board member of Safe Minds (Sensible Action For Ending Mercury-Induced Neurological Disorders), a non-profit organization founded in 2000 and led by some parents of autistic children. Safe Minds promotes a hypothetical link between vaccines and autism.

David Kirby's book, Evidence of Harm profiled her life and work.^[4][5] While serving on the House Committee on Government Reform, she co-wrote the report, "Mercury in Medicines—Taking Unnecessary Risks," published in the Congressional Record in 2003.^[5]

Birt became involved in the creation of Thoughtful House, a research and clinical center for the treatment of autism and other developmental disabilities, located in Austin, Texas. The principal medical investigator at the center is physician Andrew Wakefield.

The Elizabeth Ann Birt Memorial Fund for Truth and Love has been established at Thoughtful House to fund autism research and to help families who need assistance with the care and treatment of children with autism.^[6]

[edit] See also

• List of vaccine topics
• Neurodiversity

[edit] References

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