Vaccinations - A Parent's Right To Choose
By Jane Sheppard
The vaccine decision is one of the most important
choices we can make as parents. However, in
questioning vaccines, we open ourselves up
to a great deal of criticism, disapproval
and accusations of child neglect from doctors,
school administrators, public health officials,
family members and other parents. How, they
ask, do we dare question a practice that has
prevented so many devastating diseases and
saved so many lives? Aren’t we putting our
child and other children at risk for contracting
serious diseases? After all, the government
agencies designated to protect public health
and most doctors say that childhood vaccines
are safe.
If you dig a little deeper into the issue,
you’ll find many gaps and limitations in the
data and knowledge regarding vaccine safety.
Unfortunately, vaccines are
capable of causing serious damage to the health
of a child. Because they contain lab-altered
viruses, bacteria and other toxic substances,
vaccines have the inherent ability to cause
mild to severe brain or immune system damage,
or even death, depending on the vaccine given,
the combination of vaccines given, the health
of the child at the time of vaccination, and
the genetic or biological factors that predispose
the child to these complications. Vaccines
are potent and toxic drugs that contain formaldehyde,
mercury derivatives, aluminum, antibiotics
and other toxic components.
Vaccine Reactions
Most doctors do not bother to report adverse
reactions, and it is estimated that only between
one and ten percent of vaccine reactions are
ever reported. Even so, between 12,000 and
14,000 adverse reactions (including hospitalizations,
injuries and death) are reported annually
to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System
(VAERS). Chronic diseases and disabilities
in children have risen dramatically as vaccination
rates for a growing number of vaccines climb
higher than ever before.
There are two types of vaccine reactions
– short-term and long-term. Short-term reactions
occur soon after receiving a vaccine. These
can include fevers, allergic responses, deafness,
high-pitched screaming, prolonged crying,
developmental regression, convulsions, paralysis,
brain inflammation and central nervous system
damage resulting in temporary or permanent
disabilities, and death. The majority of children
seem to survive vaccinations unscathed by
immediate serious adverse reactions, but no
tests are in place to determine in advance
if your child will react to vaccines.
Long-term or delayed reactions to vaccines
can be less obvious and are seldom studied,
but a growing number of scientists, researchers,
parents, and doctors agree that vaccines can
cause autism, epilepsy, mental retardation,
learning disabilities, and behavior disorders
such as ADD/ADHD, in addition to long-term
immune system damage. Manipulating the immune
system with 33 doses of 10 different vaccines
before the age of five weakens immunity, leaving
the child vulnerable to other infectious diseases.
Some qualified scientists are suggesting that
mass immunization is directly contributing
to the now widespread increase in auto-immune,
degenerative disease and allergic conditions.
Parents and practitioners generally agree
that children who are not vaccinated are healthier
overall than vaccinated children, although
no studies have been done to confirm this
yet.
Universal Vaccines for
Everyone?
Does it make sense to mandate vaccines for
every child given the risks involved? The
public health strategy for eliminating diseases
includes universal vaccines for everyone,
regardless of risks to the individual. Some
children must be sacrificed in order to achieve
the goal of eradicating disease in a population.
They tell us that more lives will be lost
to the disease if we don’t vaccinate against
it. But is this statement really true in the
current reality of high-tech medicine in a
population with effective sanitation and knowledge
about the immunology of breastfeeding?
We cannot wipe out every disease on the planet.
It may be more sensible to focus on strengthening
our children’s immune systems to deal with
the increasing number of different “superbugs”
created by the inappropriate and massive use
of antibiotics than to inject numerous toxins
into their delicate, developing bodies. If
we use breastmilk, good nutrition, herbs,
naturopathy, homoeopathy, or other immune-enhancing
methods to keep our children’s immune systems
strong, then why would we want to inject foreign
material and toxins into their bodies, especially
since there have been no long term studies
done to prove their safety? An increasing
number of parents are not willing to take
the risk of sacrificing their child to a point
of view that goes against their core beliefs
about health and wellness.
Parents Do Have A Choice
At the doctor’s office, parents are given
a two-page “Vaccine Information Statement”
which highlights the importance of vaccines
and downplays the harmful effects. Many parents
are coerced into vaccinating their children
with the threat of losing their doctor, having
their children denied school attendance, and
charges of medical neglect. Children have
actually been taken away from their parents,
forcibly vaccinated, and placed in the care
of the “state” when their parents chose to
protect them from vaccines. Informed consent
means that an informed patient (or parent)
should always have absolute freedom to accept
or reject any specific medical treatment or
procedure. The patient (or parent) has the
right to be treated sensitively and compassionately
while learning about his or her options. The
doctor is both ethically obligated and legally
required to participate in a communication
process that helps the patient to understand
risks and benefits as well as alternatives.
There are informed consent statutes and case
laws in all 50 states in the U.S. Why don’t
these revered informed consent laws apply
when it comes to vaccines? Parents are almost
never told about exemptions to state vaccine
laws. They are usually told they do not have
a choice.
The Association of American Physicians is
deeply concerned that vaccine policy is based
on incomplete studies of efficacy and potential
adverse effects of the vaccines and results
in the violation of informed consent. “While
we acknowledge that vaccines in the past have
prevented many serious illnesses, they also
have the potential to do great harm if given
to the wrong individual," says Jane Orient,
M.D. "That decision must be made by the
patient (or parent) in consultation with their
physician -- not through coercion by a government
agency or school district."
Making an Informed Decision
We have the right to select the kind of preventive
health care that is appropriate for our family.
We should never be forced to accept any medical
procedure that carries the risk of injury
or death against our will. Making an informed
decision requires that we evaluate the needs
of our family and seriously assess the pros
and cons of each vaccine within this context.
If we wish to keep our children’s bodies free
from harmful toxins and develop healthy immunity
naturally, we have every right to say no to
vaccines.
When my baby was two months old, I made a
decision to delay all vaccines until she was
at least one year. This gave me time to do
the research and become informed. This also
gave her immune and nervous system a chance
to develop naturally so she would be less
vulnerable to vaccine toxins if I decided
to allow them in the future. After a year
of full investigation into the issue, I made
a firm decision that my daughter would not
receive any vaccines at all. I am comfortable
in this decision, knowing it was made after
being fully informed of all aspects of the
issue.
Some parents, after weighing all the information,
select only the vaccines they feel are important
for their children. Other parents may choose
to delay vaccines and not follow the “recommended
schedule”. You can choose some of the vaccines
and refuse others.
If you choose to vaccinate, there are
some safety precautions you can take:
Get individual vaccines separately instead
of in combination with other vaccines.
Don't let your children be vaccinated for
more than one disease on the same day.
Don't allow your children to be vaccinated
when they are sick or recovering from an illness.
Don't let your children get an unnecessary
booster. You can ask for a blood test for
antibodies to the disease. If they have enough
antibodies, they will not need any boosters
and this proof of immunity can be used for
school attendance.
Exemptions
Recommendations by the CDC Advisory Committee
on Immunization Practices are translated into
mandates by state health departments. In turn,
school districts require certain vaccines
as a condition of attendance. You have a legal
right to exempt your children from vaccines
in order for them to attend school. All states
have medical exemptions (these must be signed
by a doctor), 48 states have exemptions for
religious beliefs, and 15 states have exemptions
for philosophical beliefs. Claiming the philosophical
exemption in some states (California, for
example) is as easy as signing the statement
on the back of the school’s vaccination record
or providing a letter which states that vaccination
is against your personal beliefs. As long
as you sign this form, there should be no
questions and your child should be admitted
to school. A religious exemption can be a
little trickier, sometimes requiring a letter
from a recognized church, but in many cases
a parent can write a letter simply stating
vaccinations are against their religious beliefs.
If you are seeking an exemption, get a copy
of your state immunization law and follow
exactly what it says about what is needed
for an exemption. Many parents are not aware
that these exemptions exist since public health
officials, doctors, or school administrators
never mention them and will even deny their
existence.
The Captive Multi-Billion
Dollar Vaccine Market
The majority of people believe that vaccines
are the supreme solution to disease and the
greatest gifts ever bestowed upon children.
Parents who decide not to vaccinate are viewed
as neglectful of their own children and willing
to put other children at risk. What fuels
this belief? In America’s money-driven vaccine
campaign, the vaccine manufacturers use the
government, doctors, and school officials
to effectively market their products. The
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepts
safety data from the manufacturers and licenses
vaccines used in the U.S. After licensing,
the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
(ACIP), appointed by the Centers for Disease
Control (CDC), makes recommendations on doses
and ages for the use of these vaccines in
children. ACIP immunization recommendations
are extremely influential and enacted into
law as mandates by individual states.
Many members of both the ACIP and the FDA’s
advisory committees have recently been found
by the Government Reform Committee to have
blatant conflicts of interest, with strong
financial ties to the pharmaceutical companies
that make vaccines. The Government Reform
Committee has recently exposed these conflicts
of interest, focusing on the approval of the
rotavirus vaccine, which was found to cause
severe bowel obstructions. This vaccine was
pulled from the market last year. A substantial
number of babies were injured and required
surgery, and one baby died from the vaccine.
It was found that the FDA’s advisory committee
members that approved the rotavirus vaccine
were aware of the problems but voted to approve
it anyway. Three out of these five members
had financial ties to the pharmaceutical companies
that were developing different versions of
the rotavirus vaccine. This is not an isolated
incident. Congressman Burton, the head of
the Reform Committee remarked, “If the panels
that have made the decisions on all vaccines
on the Childhood Immunization Schedule had
as many conflicts as we found with rotavirus,
then the entire process has been polluted
and the public trust has been violated.”
A mandate for every child in the country
to use their product gives vaccine manufacturers
a steady and constant demand for their products.
And since they are now protected from legal
action by the Vaccine Injury Compensation
Program of 1986, they are rushing to bring
new vaccines to market, regardless of safety
considerations. As more and more parents are
beginning to mistrust vaccines, money is being
spent to fund pro-vaccine organizations for
public relations and damage control. Vaccine
“experts” are hired to manipulate public opinion
by denying the severity of adverse reactions
and reinforcing the belief that the benefits
of vaccines outweigh the risks. Instead of
becoming alarmed by reports of vaccine-induced
brain damage and pushing for the unbiased
research needed to determine why this is happening,
vaccine manufacturers and government agencies
embark on intensive public relations campaigns
to make sure the public trust in vaccines
has not been diminished in any way. Their
main goal is to keep the vaccine program moving
forward at any cost. As Randall Neustaedter,
OMD warns parents in The
Vaccine Guide: Making An Informed Choice,
“Vaccines represent consumer goods – and parents
should research this product far more carefully
than other purchases because their children’s
lives could be at stake.”
Protect Your Rights
We need to realize that our rights have been
taken away in the process of trying to eradicate
disease in a way that has questionable consequences
on public health. A project of the federal
government now underway is to implement an
immunization tracking system. This registry
will have medical and vaccine information
on every child born in the U.S., including
parental information. Insurance companies
have access to this information, and the possibility
exists of denial of coverage based on immunization
status. Public health agencies will use this
information to track and pressure parents
into having their children vaccinated. Tracking
systems already exist in several states, and
other states are following. Some states have
no provisions for parental consent or the
right to privacy. We should appeal to our
state legislators to protect our privacy and
change the way mandatory vaccination laws
are established. Parents must be informed
about exemptions to these laws, and the exemptions
must be safeguarded and expanded.
We, as a society, have become obsessed with
fear of infectious disease. This is mainly
because we don’t understand it. We blindly
put our faith in the medical establishment
and public health officials who view disease
as an enemy to exterminate at all costs, regardless
of the number of damaged children and deaths
that may occur in the process. When we accept
these policies, we give our power over to
the government and vaccine industry and let
them intrude in our health care choices. The
drug companies and government health officials
need to be held accountable for the injuries,
deaths and chronic illnesses caused by the
vaccines they produce, promote, sell, and
mandate for mass use. We, as parents, need
to take our power back and make informed choices
for our children.
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Use
the information provided on this site as an
educational resource for determining your
options and making your own informed choices.
It is not intended as medical advice or to
diagnose, prescribe, or treat any specific
illness.