Anti-Vaccination Mom Claims Religious Exemption

Zeke Hanzl

I do not have a "nuanced" position regarding legitimate vaccinations. Children should be vaccinated at the required age not only to protect them but all the other kids with whom they come in contact. There is excellent science supporting the efficacy and safety of vaccines required in the US. There is basically irrefutable science indication that vaccines do not cause Autism. Much as we do not like federal mandates, sometimes the State must act to protect it's citizens from damaging themselves or others.

Anni

Zeke, I suggest You research this more thoroughly... Vaccines in USA come with heavy metal toxicity ( thimerosal is mercury ) the main source of many hard to heal diseases today since the 20th century. I suggest You research this much more to become educated about both sides before subjected it to an innocent :+)

Rt Rev Dr N

It is sad really that their belief's get in the way of protecting their children from severe illness but, one has to respect everyone's belief, their thoughts and ideas. I just hope and pray for the child's sake that they do not contract any of these illnesses which could have been prevented.

Tom

If I could have a time machine to take these anti-vaccinators to my street during the polio epidemic I experienced as a child. That horrid disease went down our street like a tornado, Indiscriminatory touching homes on both sides of the street at random. My home was thankfully spared. The little girl next door was not and spent the remaining months of her life in a iron lung. Many of you are too young to even know what an iron lung is and I hope you will look up images of them on the net. One day father came home in the middle of the day, gathered us all up and took us to the local fire house. There, in a ragged line, were all my neighbors. Some smiling, some praying, and mostly crying. We were about to be given the first of the newly created polio vaccines. I realized at that moment that I had dodged the bullet. I was not going to be like my little next door neighbor. A vaccination had given me another chance at this glorious thing we call life. In those days there were no vaccinations for things like measles, mumps, whooping cough or chicken pox. I had them all and survived by the Grace of God with only poor eyesight as a result of the measles (rubella). Then those vaccinations become available and we all rejoiced. Parents, be comforted by the idea that God just may have had a big hand in the creation of these life saving shots. Stay well, all, stay well

rfox44

How dreadful, exempt because of a superstitious delusion.

Pastor P.

This is an issue which transcends "Religious Freedom". If a greater good can be served by 'rendering unto Cesar', then shouldn't we? For me this is where the slippery slope begins. Freedom of one becomes dangerous when it impinges on another's Rights.

Tim

Those that don't want to vaccinate there children on some idealogical grounds need to make a decision about whether the want to be a part of this society or not. In Western society we vaccinate our children as part of a responsibility to the rest of society as well as a way of protecting our children. Vaccination works only when enough members of the society are immunised to stop the infection of those that are not, this means 90% plus need to be immunised to protect those that cannot be immunised for GENUINE medical reasons. The FACTS about vaccination are that there are NO poisons or heavy metals in vaccines. There is a remote chance of having a bad immune redaction to vaccines which can cause dangerous problems but the odds of this happening are always dramatically lower than the odds of your child dying from the disease because they were not vaccinated. By choosing not to vaccinate your child you are not only endangering your child you are endangering the children of those people whose children can not be vaccinated for genuine medical reasons. As for other claims made by the anti-vaccination lobby about connections to Autism etc. these claims have been proven to be completely false over and over. So the situation is simple if you don't want to vaccinate your kids on idealogical grounds then LEAVE go and live in a third world country that does not vaccinate and watch your children suffer and die from preventable disease. If you don't want to do that then vaccinate your kids and do the right thing for your children and the children of others.

Ervin Kosch

Should we vacinate? Yes, but not the way we're doing it now. We're injecting multiple vacines in a single concentrated doses at younger and younger ages. They can overwhelm a child's system causing an alergic reaction or super immunity response that can damage a child's body.The vacines need to be seperated out into individual vacines (not 3 and 4 at a time) and started at 2 years old, perferably at 3 years old. Any younger then that and thier immune systems may over react the shock that these forgien bodies can cause.

bender

Science über alles

Lee Batchelor

It's true that a lot of people simply do not trust science these days. I believe the lack of trust is due to extreme media coverage--that is--every detail of every incidence is right at our finger tips. People are making judgments about science under conditions they can't trust. And yes, science has let us all down at some points in history. Look at the wonder drug, Thalidomide, which was used for preventing nausea during pregnancy. It was a disaster with thousands of babies born with deformities. Yes, we've been wrong! I'll go with the odds. When you're vaccinated against disease A, you won't get disease A, or least it will be a short lived infection with little consequences.

I just finished reading a book about the great influenza epidemic in the post WWI era. Jump in a time machine and ask anyone back then if they would like a vaccine against influenza. No one really knows what the death toll was, but estimates vary form 40 to 100 million world wide, and guess what--the highest death toll was among the young and healthiest age group, 18 to 35 years if memory serves. The book also states that they developed a vaccine against meningitis in 1917. After that, the death rate from meningitis was 7 percent. With today's advances in antibiotics, the death rate is 25 percent because we favor antibiotics over vaccines (in this case).

Life is a game of chance. Vaccines work, and I'll certainly take my chances with them over hysteria or media hype.

Larry

I appreciate the ULC staying out of politics. The anti-vaxxers are like the climate deniers, but they are trying to use religion in their quest to put their irrational beliefs ahead of the common good, and the argument has nothing to do with religion.

Vernon Simpkins

If that child go to public school he or she should be vaccinated so they do not affect any other children

Steven J Frey

I have no objection to a parent refusing to have their child immunized. However, immunization not only protects the child, but keeps that child from infecting all of the children around them. That is why schools require it. If a child is not immunized, they need to be home schooled, or perhaps create an immunization and peanut free school.

Shen

As with the recent issue of Religious "law" versus Governmental law in the Kim Davis case, Our Nation is a secular one, we are founded upon the separation of Church and State and while various forces have been fighting that ideal for hundreds of years, I must lend my voice to that of Reason and Science. It is foolishness to favor Faith, superstition or the "Will of Insert Deity here" when addressing issues of public health. No matter what Faith you follow, most if not all reflect some form of humanity being gifted with Talents and being told to use those Talents, to better ourselves and our World with our choices. Are we perfect? No. Do we make mistakes? Yes. However, I would much rather take my chances with methods based in logic, reason and Scientific inquiry, works reviewed and assessed by hundreds if not thousands of educated minds, each seeking to the ideal of improving the quality of life for all mankind than to allow a single opinion of any Dogmatic leader based not in understanding, but in rote repetition of a tradition from a bygone era where millions died needlessly due to wallowing in filth and ignorance.

Let us not bring back the Dark Ages, shall we?

Dr G

If any of the repliers are in the health care field and are appalled at the increasing numbers of not only autistic but brain damaged and family damaged lifestyles that are a direct result of DPT injections, and the rising costs put on families by Big Pharma. Now the state of Montana is introducing(Oct 1 ) MANDATORY chickenpox vaccine. Which I certainly do not agree with and have already filed with my kids schools that they are not to be vaccinated for a disease, for which we (our local community)had a block party. All of the kids in the neighborhood came over and we got through it(the POX) in a week. Oatmeal baths and not one medical intervention. These kids now have God's natural immunity and are protected. Not good enough for the state of Montana, If your child has no medical information of being examined or treated by NP DO MD RN, they will need to have an expensive blood test to prove that the parents aren't lying. God made us perfect. "Science is funded by big Pharma, please do the math. It is not about protection, it is about money. Tell the truth. Don't Get stuck

Kris Lindemann

The bigger picture here involves the shift needed to optimal health and robust wellness instead of a fear based potential illness paradigm. Everyone should have the choice over what goes into their body. There is much opportunity for healing and growth here on many levels of the individual body and the collective at large.

Stan Grogg

As a pediatrician, I am a strong advocate for all FDA vaccinations. I have been part of vaccine research studies and know about the stringent reviews before vaccines are approved. They are very safe and efficacious. I wish parents would review evidence based studies and stop using University of Google as their resource for anti-vaccine prigrams. Let's protect everyone from vaccine preventable diseases, be wise and immunize. SEG

HMK

Media hype, from what I've seen, has been extraordinary attention paid to very isolated outbreaks of so called preventable diseases, such as the recent measles "epidemic" (what counts as an epidemic? 189 people?) That, and a great deal of media play and advertisement of flu vaccines, offered in every drug store, even offering discounts on your purchase if you get a shot. Media "hype" is nearly exclusively pro-pharmaceutical. In addition, 99% of people in this country follow their doctor's recommendations for medications and shots.

Surely there are extreme views in all camps. However, Most people I hear talking about vaccine concerns are neither worried from a religious standpoint (fetal cells, blood sanctity, etc) nor "hysterical", nor rejecting vaccines outright: Rather, they wonder about the cumulative effect of so many immune stimulants, they wonder about the ingredients, they wonder if there is a way to make vaccines safer and more individually scheduled, they wonder if vaccines play a PART in the many chronic diseases that are on the rise in children (diabetes, cancer, allergic disorders, autism spectrum disorders, etc.), for reasons of immune system overstimulation, chemical exposure (aluminum, mercury, other adjuvants etc.), or some unknown mechanism. Or, they have children with documented vaccine damage, and hesitate to expose their other children to the vaccine that caused the damage in the first child, or perhaps any vaccines, until they better understand how and why their injured child had a bad reaction. Or, they are scientists who try again and again to get independent funding for safety studies or research into alternative modes of delivering immunization, and can't for the life of them break into a very solidified and somewhat incestuous system, such that it is - one in which corporations, government agencies, and even universities are so inextricably linked by a revolving door of personnel and a thick web of financial interest that the real possibility of serious conflict of interest looms large.

Vaccines work to at least some percentage to prevent the manifestation of diseases they are created for. Some are far more effective than others, judging from the CDC's website. One can continue to explore whether the vaccines as administered in the current mandated schedule are indeed resulting in overall improvement of the health of the populace on all fronts. There are risk/benefit ratios to be determined, there are large epidemiological studies to be undertaken; but after all, whether the vaccines WORK is not what is at debate.

What is up for debate here is whether citizens should have the right to choose whether to subject themselves and their family to a medical procedure that has both potential benefits and risks for themselves individually, and also has an impact on their community.

Science Uber Alles? - Yes. TRUE science. Disinterested peer review. Independent third party checking of data, and the conclusions drawn from it. Continual inquiry in the service of human compassion. How can we continually do no harm? How can we alleviate the most suffering? How can we help the most people, and continually reduce, and then eliminate, any harm to those who are not helped? Asking the NEXT question, not resting on the laurels of a well known and lucrative discovery. Saying "We discovered this principle, developed this therapy - now, how can we make it even less harmful and more helpful?" Being willing to prove oneself wrong through further scientific inquiry. Being willing to continually reevaluate in light of a constantly changing world and populace Being willing to live in uncertainty on the path to knowledge. Being willing to continually seek knowledge in the pursuit of truth. Scientific inquiry is performed by human beings, we are fallible, and must be checked by other scientists who aren't gaining anything from the results of the study.

That's the kind of science we need, in this, and every, debate.

Much of what passes for "science" in the media is just the latest study or incident that can get a sensational response, often oversimplified or misrepresented contextually. Or we hear broad "studies" from cherry picked metadata that make a good sound bite.("Tomatoes contain lycopene, lycopene is good for you=pizza is good for you!") Or, advertisements drumming up insecurities and fear as they advertise drugs, in the name of education. We are often treated to mouthpieces of corporations with letters of education after their names that assure us that whatever they are doing to the world is nothing to worry about. This is the kind of thing that leads people to mistrust "science" - when really, that kind of thing, of course, isn't science at all.

I hope that good faith discussions are encouraged, and that research is pushed to the forefront to find the very best ways to protect both the long term health of all people AND the prime agency of the individual to decide his/her fate and that of her family when it comes to medical matters. It is a razors edge to walk, but I think that we here, and I hope in our nation and world at large, have the commitment to compassion, truth, and the health of our children to walk it.

Reverend Robert

Vaccines are like seat belts, air bags and child safety seats in vehicles. They have been mandated by Government, after research, development and stringent testing. If my "religious " beliefs allowed me to remove all these, would you want your children to car pool with me? That's what I thought!

Jim Stoner

"Most of us would agree that each person has the freedom of conscience to make decisions on any issue that affects them and not others." Since when? Smoking marijuana is against the law and it doesn't even hurt the user let alone someone else.

J RUSSELL

I have never read anyone's notice of a list of world journeys showing the scientific proof; some people only write like some Madison avenue ad. Does anyone know that polio was on the wane until the vaccine was main lined into us kids of the early 60's? It's all about MONEY, and that's their bottom line. I wonder how many pro - vaccine people read any other sources or are they just good followers

Janet Stegman

Nobody should have the right to force me to inject foreign substances into my blood stream. Or that of my child. Even if they are afraid.

Sharon Therkildsen

As a older person, I had measles, mumps, and chicken pox. I nearly died from the measles and missed almost two months of school. I was very sick and would not want to see any child go through the suffering I had and the anguish it caused my parents. These childhood diseases can have long term consequences. I hope and pray that parents will educate themselves about the possible outcomes of avoiding vaccinations along with the risks of vaccinations before making their decisions about their children's lives.

Children can die from what we used to call "childhood illnesses." I think that label may have caused some to believe that theses illnesses were more of an inconvenience than a direct threat to their child's health.

hannah

I would like to clarify one point. Immunizations and vaccinations are not interchangeable terms. One can become immunized without a vaccination when their immune system is healthy and can overcome the intruding disease on its own. This is understandably a heated issue, because both sides feel they are doing the responsible thing. I respect parents who base their decision on the best research they have available. There are pros and cons to both sides -- as a parent you need to choose which of those you are willing to live with, and act accordingly. There are NO GUARANTEES, only best lifestyle choices. I believe it is irresponsible on both parties (vax or un-vax) to rely solely on a series of shots/no shots as the inroad to health. It's a lifestyle of nourishing our bodies, movement, healthy stress reduction, emotionally stable relationships, etc.

Anita French

I agree with the reasons not to give government the power to mandate vaccines for anyone. If you wish to do it, do it. If you wish to not do it, then don't do it. This debate has been raging since my children were born - 26 and 16 years ago. I educatedly decided not to have injections of immunizations into my children. ESPECIALLY NOW, with evidence that the pharmaceutical industry is driven more by profits than public health, I think the people who are immaturely saying "keep your stupid kids at home if you do not buy into vaccinations" have the most scary of all the Eugenics-ish mindsets. I think it boils down to two different philosophies, all centered around either the trust of natural/alternative nutrition/diet natural based health science, as opposed to the ones who blindly trust the AMA and their Insurance/Pharmaceutical corporate alliances. I was fringe then, and I am considered fringe now by the latter. Any research into the shoddy history of medicine reveals that as wonderful and necessary as Science is, it is always shifting to the next new finding or truth. So, until we know it all (including cures and eradication of all diseases), then Medicine is hardly qualified to "claim" science as their own. ***Now ready to hear the usual middle-schoolboy onslaught of name-calling and pseudo-intellectual egotists out there that need to be right, no matter if they're wrong.

Randy McDonald

Why is it that in our current society the few out weigh the many? Why should other children be exposed to a possibly life threatening disease just because someone decides they want to risk their own child? So many examples of similar situations where the words of Spock (Star Trek) seem to be reversed. he said in one scene "The needs of the many out weigh the needs of the few, or the one". Enough said!

Kasey

Though, there certainly are a healthy barrage of reasons for debate over why to vaccinate or not to vaccinate, it comes down to me, the ability to be able to express ones own democratic options. Thus, when the federal government steps in to decide for a parent what is right then the parent's voice is taken away. I feel that there should be some advocacy for the child, too. Therefore, the matter becomes even more complicated. If there were not someone out there standing up for children, there would be no child labor laws or any protections. We have to keep in mind that not every child is the same nor is every situation the same!! Western world is full of medical practices that medicate and conduct surgery for nearly 9/10ths of all medical conditions. We are nation who practices in reactionary medicine not in holistic resolves. Though, this is changing some with amendments and changes to the design of health plans.

Rev. Keith A. Neal

I am 76 years old and had all the required shots as a small child. After the war there were no polio or mumps shot available. When I was 7 years old I got the mumps and could not see my father until I was over them. If he would have gotten the mumps I would not have my beautiful sister, as he would have become sterile.Is this what you want to happen. How about polio? It can kill you and it will cripple you. The shots in my opinion are necessary. I do not know why a family would take a chance on harming their child or another child that contacts a disease from your child.

JO-ANN

Parents should be able to have a choice, especially if based on religion.....if you choose TO NOT have your child vaccinated.....HOME SCHOOL.....at least give the chances of your unvaccinated child causing a break out like Disneyland, this past summer.....at a very low possibilty....thats a little of give and take.....enough of giving at this point.

Susan

The Disney oubtreak had nothing to do with unvaccinated schoolkids. It started with visiting foreigners most of those who got it were adults.

Paul Brimi

I think of my great grandmother Lena and how she must be spinning in her grave at the thought that people would not vaccinate their children. I think of her often and of the 5 little graves and tombstones in the family plot of my great uncles and aunts who died before age 6 in the 1880's variously from diphtheria, whooping cough, measles and or mumps. I think of what this loss did to Lena. I think of her as she put the rope over the beam in the barn and how my great great aunt found her. I think you would have to be insane not to vaccinate your child. I think it would be an act of child abuse and neglect.

Dr. David

"Science" is not absolute. Vaccinations can indeed cause significant harm and death, that is well documented fact. Vaccinations are also helpful, they have made tremendous impact on disease around the world. Our children were not vaccinated until they were in early adolescence - and I would do the same again unless there were specific reasons regarding where we lived or what type of diseases were becoming prevalent where we were. Vaccinations that are given in early childhood in mass, multiple vaccinations at the same time, are strictly for the convenience of the medical providers - it is not "Best Practice".

Beverly

Yes,all babies and young children should be given shots. Medical tech with four children I would not even think about not giving my kids shots against dangerous diseases. They became less dangerous when children were given protective shots.Now the diseases are on the up swing because people listen to a fright tale and left their children at risk.

T

Educate yourselves from facts, not hype. And certainly not from technicians or those whose careers and 'knowledge' are based on only following orders or information from the government or special interests (kind of an oxymoron, isn't it?)!

Here is a list of the ingredients in vaccines. Ammonium sulfate; beta-propiolactone; latex rubber; genetically modified yeast, animal, bacterial and viral DNA; monosodium glutamate; aluminum; formaldehyde (formalin); microorganisms--live and killed virus and bacteria or their toxins polysorbate-80; tri(n)butylphosphate; glutaraldehyde; gelatin (calf, cattle, pork); gentamycin sulfate & polymixin B (antibiotics); mercury/thimerosal--be aware that <0.5% is considered insignificant and not labeled as an ingredient, by the FDA, just like food products; neomycin sulfate (antibiotic); phenol/phenoxyethanol (2-PE); human and animal cells--human cells from aborted fetuses and human albumin (Ever wonder why all those blood donation vehicles are in the parking lots of your favorite retail centers? Think your blood donation is just being 'donated' to be used as blood for a needy victim? Think again!) Pig blood, horse blood, rabbit brain, guinea pig, dog kidney, cow heart, monkey kidney, chick embryo (fetal), chicken egg, duck egg, sheep blood, etc., etc. etc. (source: www.illuzone.net) Instead of depending on the rumors and 'Vaccine Information Sheet' written by the CDC/DOH/FDA, ask for the "drug insert" from the vaccine box --- AND READ IT. The mantra in healthcare is that you are only required to inform patients enough to make the decision you want them to make, with a few exceptions. NOW you have been educated....go do your own research on each ingredient (use 'google' as a verb---an ACTION word) and decide for yourself and your dependents.

T

One does not receive a religious exemption from the DOE, one NOTIFIES that entity of such. Federal Law gives the right to choose based on one's religious beliefs (not 'one's religion'). State law NEVER trumps federal law that has afforded you a minimum right. All that has to be done, is state that it is your religious belief. No one can challenge you on your beliefs, or your past acceptance of any or all vaccines. All one has to state is that it is his/her religious belief -- if you want to add "it's in the Bible", you certainly may do so. Any state worker that challenges you (bullying, in reality, from local experiences), should be met with the following statement "You are PROHIBITED by federal law from asking me those questions.". This is the strongest bullet you have in your arsenal of parental protection.

If your state allows for a personal belief exemption, and you choose to go that route, frequently it is easier on you and your child to have the 'school physical' and necessary form, completed at a non-threatening, non-punitive care site (retail clinics, chiropractors, and wellness-oriented medical (ARNP, MD, DO) providers rather than a pediatrician/practitioner who has stated that if you do not vaccinate he/she will not take care of your child. Be forewarned, if local action is any indication of other jurisdictions, personal belief is a lot more under attack than would be religious belief.

There is another option of which many parents are not aware: Titers. These are blood level tests for the specific disease to determine whether or not a person (any age) has immunity. Once there is a titer level that has the result(s) of immunity, the provider writes a note/prescription or fills out a school form (college-level) that identifies the disease and the immunity determination. Voila, no need for the vaccine. After all, the goal is to prevent disease, and if one is immune, that goal has been met without the need for that vaccine. Titers can be used for proof of immunity at any school level; just be cognizant of how one acquires natural immunity and perform the titer testing at the best time.

If you chose to vaccinate or not, or are selective in the vaccines you choose or the vaccination schedule (which has a wide berth for choice, in some instances), be sure you are educated on the risks and benefits of your choices.

One educational text, now in PDF on the internet, is "Horrors of Vaccination Exposed" (and Illustrated) by Chas. M. Higgins, Brooklyn, NY 1929. It is insightful, research based, and thought-provoking.

Good luck to all.

Ric Basen

I dont want to argue with anyone. I simply wish that people would get facts from a verified source rather than rumors or discredited sources. There are many sources today that have been proven wrong, including actors and a few doctors. One of the most outspoken Doctors on the issue later admitted that he made up his 'findings' to please some friends. Also, an actor made a lot of noise against health issues a few years ago. She had NO training nor actual knowledge about the subject. If you want real facts, from both sides, Please check with the WHO. http://www.who.int/features/qa/84/en/ They have real answers.. not Hype.

Michael Fullmer

Let's see...should kids be vaccinated? Ahhhh Yeah!

John Owens

If you trust your government, by all means get vaccinated, and get your children vaccinated. Don't worry about everyone else's children. If YOUR vaccine works, you have nothing to fear. If you're afraid it won't, that means you don't trust your government. You can only worry about your own. Everyone else's child is THEIR responsibility. Sure, if they're starving or beating them, you have a right to intervene. If they are raising them in a way that is different from yours, it is none of your business, OR the government's business. Why is this even a "controversy"? Get over it.

Jacqueline

I suggest people watch the excellent documentary film "Vaxxed" that Robert de Niro helped to promote. Not all vaccines are bad but some are. People need to know the facts and then be allowed to make a choice. Apparently Amazon has just banned this film from its website store. About a hundred years ago Rudolph Steiner warned that in the times we live in now there would be vaccines that would turn children away from their natural spiritual inclination.

Charles Ryan Lilly

I've written exemptions for people. I was just checking to see the Church's stance on it. Since the Church has no stance and allows us to decide, in my congregation I am against mRNA vaccines and any vaccine requirement needed to buy and sell or make a living or participate in society. Just wait, soon they will require an iris scan (forehead) or a hand scan (right hand) to verify your vaccination status just so you can enter a grocery store. No thank you. I will not participate.