The idea that vaccines are a primary cause of autism is not as crackpot as some might wish. Autism's 60-fold rise in 30 years matches a tripling of the U.S. vaccine schedule.

She has claimed that vaccines cause autism and that chelation therapy helped cure her son—claims considered false by the medical community. McCarthy then parlayed her Playboy fame into a television and film acting career. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for Playboy magazine and was later named their Playmate of the Year.