That being the case, is it not irresponsible on the author's part not to correct this fatal error?
No, I don't think the author has any duty to come out and try to 'correct' how a fan reads the work, nor do I think it is even desirable for her to do so. The author puts the story out there. The reader is an intelligent, thinking person who can interpret or view the story in any way she sees fit. I don't particularly care what Meyer's own view on it. That's the thing about art - once you put it out there, it belongs, in a sense, to the viewer, reader, or whoever. The person who brings their own experiences to bear in receiving it.