The vast majority of flu vaccines are preserved with a mercury compound called thimerosal. Many vaccines contain other toxic additives, such as the carcinogen formaldehyde.

During obstetrics training in medical school, we were taught to minimize the exposure of a pregnant mother and fetus to alcohol, drugs, and other potentially harmful substances.

In fact, we were taught that if a medicine was not necessary, it was best to err on the side of caution and not prescribe it. Such advice is consistent with doctors’ Hippocratic Oath: “Above all, do no harm.”

Thimerosal is a toxic substance — 50 percent mercury by weight — that has no place in any immunization or, for that matter, in any consumer product. Yet it is used as a preservative.

Mercury is one of the most poisonous substances known to mankind, and is associated with a host of neurological and immune system problems. Still, the ACOG committee opinion stated, “ . . . there is no scientific evidence that thimerosal-containing vaccines cause adverse effects in children born to women who received vaccines with thimerosal. Hence the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) does not indicate a preference for thimerosal-containing or thimerosal-free vaccines for any group, including pregnant women.”

I am not sure how to respond to this statement. Perhaps something from the wisdom of Forrest Gump would suffice: “Stupid is as stupid does.”