Ronald Gots, a biased paid witness?
In support of the chemical industry position on MCS, Mr. Stossel has already interviewed Dr. Ronald Gots, the founder and president of the Environmental Sensitivities Research Institute [301-984-8933]. By his own admission, Dr. Gots has not cared for a single patient of his own for 20 years, yet he has testified against the claims of MCS patients for over a decade as a paid witness for chemical and insurance companies. His ostensibly non-profit “institute,” which actually does no “research,” charges $10,000 per year for “Enterprise Membership” and includes on its board of directors representatives from the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, Proctor and Gamble, Monsanto, and DowElanco. MCS Referral & Resources documented the extensive “Undisclosed Biases and Misrepresentations” of Dr. Gots in a fact sheet prepared for ABC News, but suspects that Mr. Stossel nevertheless may portray him as an unbiased expert on MCS.
“It is really grossly misleading for Mr. Stossel to give credence to Dr. Gots’ claim that MCS is either a psychogenic (imagined) illness or an iatrogenic (doctor-induced) fear of chemicals,” said Mr. Donnay. As documented in an extensive bibliography on MCS compiled by MCS Referral & Resources, the overwhelming majority of peer-reviewed scientific studies and current research on MCS clearly support a physical basis for the disorder.
Author: Contributor
