When Andrew Wakefield published his now completely discredited paper linking the MMR vaccine to the development of autism, he held a news conference.

Calling it a “moral issue,” Dr. Wakefield, then a gastroenterologist, told reporters he could no longer support the use of the three-in-one vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella and called for “urgent further research.”

Ironically, in his paper, he said himself the study was done on just twelve children and did not prove a link. That was twelve years ago, and sparked one of the most contentious health stories of this generation.

What we know today is investigations have shown that nothing Wakefield claimed about the children in his study matches their medical records. Lancet, the journal that published Wakefield's paper, recently retracted it, stating it never should have been published.

Even more damning is learning Wakefield was being paid before and during the study for advising lawyers on a lawsuit against the makers of the MMR vaccine. At the time he entered the children into his study, their parents were already clients of the lawyers paying him. Eventually they paid him nearly seven hundred thousand dollars.

None of these conflicts of interest were disclosed during the study or its publication. As the result of Wakefield's claims, vaccination rates dropped dramatically, leading to a significant increase in measles infections.

The result is more children are suffering complications, including death. By comparison, the MMR vaccine is many times safer. Nearly all will have no side effects and in extremely rare cases, less than 1 out of one million children, develop encephalitis.

What's significant is not one study on MMR has found any evidence supporting Wakefield's claims. Yet, today too many parents decline to vaccinate their children against potentially deadly diseases.