RedCounty.com and National Review Online have two great stories on the latest trial lawyer scare tactic over BPA in baby products. It’s an under-the-radar story that exposes the liberal media’s role in furthering the trial lawyer agenda.
Last week, a regulatory panel of doctors and medical experts ruled that BPA, Bisphenol A, does not constitute a public health threat.
From the Associated Press: “A state board voted Wednesday that the chemical, also known as BPA, will not be covered under Proposition 65, a voter-approved measure used by regulators to identify substances that can cause cancer or reproductive harm. The panel of seven physicians voted unanimously, saying there’s not enough scientific evidence of BPA’s potential dangers.”
Trial lawyers have been scaring the public about BPA by claiming it causes cancer and birth defects. And because the chemical is found in almost every plastic, trial lawyers have the luxury of cherry-picking society’s most vulnerable targets. (Does anyone hate puppies or babies?)
Enter the current hysteria over BPA in baby bottles. The trial lawyers have no facts to support their claims, just shoddy yellow journalism from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The paper ran frightening yet “award-winning” stories as a part of a 2008 multi-part investigation into BPA.
Sound science contradicts the Journal Sentinel‘s reporting. BPA has been used as a chemical additive in plastics for 50 years. The EU says BPA is safe. Now, you can add California medical experts.
California’s regulatory decision is big news because (1) the panel is made up of unbiased doctors (2) the panel’s decision was unanimous (3) the panel stated BPA attacks are unwarranted.
But, as Mark Hemingway points out, the media has an incentive to fan the flames of public fear.
It’s another reminder that there are some perverse incentives for journalists. Dramatic reports on threats to public safety win awards. Reporting that those same threats are overblown and likely egged on by those hoping to make millions off class-action lawsuits is applauded by no one.
The European Union’s scientific experts and a unanimous panel of California doctors claim BPA is not a threat. They must really hate babies.
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