On Monday, Robert Kennedy Jr. made an apology for making use of word 'holocaust' to describe an increase in autism cases.

Kennedy Jr used the term last week during a screening in Sacramento of the film 'Trace Amounts'. The movie connects autism to a vaccine preservative. The nephew of President John F. Kennedy and son of former US Attorney General Robert Kennedy, he said that he was working hard for a way to express the effects of autism on children and their families.

Kennedy said that he want to make an apology to all whom he offended by using the word holocaust to describe the autism epidemic. "I employed the term during an impromptu speech as I struggled to find an expression to convey the catastrophic tragedy of autism which has now destroyed the lives of over 20 million children and shattered their families", added Kennedy.

According to Kennedy, he will make use of other words to describe the autism crisis in the future. Kennedy was also against a California bill that would limit vaccination waivers for schoolchildren. State Sen. Richard Pan, a Democratic pediatrician from Sacramento was under added security in response to his bill. The proposal is scheduled to be heard on Wednesday in a Senate education committee.

Assemblyman Marc Levine, vice chair of the Legislative Jewish Caucus said that the word holocaust must not be used as a flippant throwaway line to make a point in a debate. The subject of vaccines carries on to be a hot-button issue, with whooping cough and measles among the diseases that have been on the increase of late.