Featured Article | THB Undercover
A Growing Movement Against Mandatory Vaccines
I used to think that only people with ultra-conservative religious beliefs or anti-establishment opinions home-schooled their kids. But after reading an October 2008 article in USA Today,1 I learned differently. Debra and Curtis Barnes are part of a growing number of Americans who home-school their three children solely to avoid having them vaccinated.
Debra Curtis is hardly a fringe member of society. She has a busy chiropractic practice in Mississippi and is president of the Mississippi Vaccination Information Center, a group of 159 concerned parents who believe that mandatory vaccinations for school-age children are a dangerous over-reach by state governments.
This group is not alone in their concerns. Surprisingly perhaps, they have the support of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), whose thousands of members are not anti-vaccine, but believe that the government and individual school districts do not have the right to mandate vaccines without parental informed consent. The AAPS factsheet says that “42 states have mandatory vaccine policies, and many children are required 22 shots by first grade.”2
New Jersey has the highest requirement of mandatory childhood vaccines in the US— 35 doses of 13 different vaccines,3 most of them administered to children between the ages of 1 and 7. Parents must comply with the vaccine schedule if their children will be attending school or daycare unless they have received a religious or medical exemption.
Perhaps not surprisingly, New Jersey also has the highest rate of autism among 14 states that were analyzed in 2007 by the CDC4 — 10.6 cases of autism per 1,000 children (or 1 in 94), compared to an average of 6.6 per 1,000 (1 in 152) children overall.5
Like the AAPS and the parents of many home-schooled children, citizen groups all over the country are speaking out against the ever increasing number of government-mandated vaccines and mobilizing to do something about it.
The New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice (NJCVC), an expanding group of parents, physicians, holistic organizations, autism support groups, and other concerned citizens is currently lobbying for a Conscientious Belief Exemption that will allow parents to refuse mandatory immunizations for their children on the basis of sincerely held moral objections.
Among its top 10 reasons for a conscientious exemption bill, the NJCVC cites the manner in which mandatory vaccines are decided and scheduled. A seven-member advisory panel appointed by the governor determines the state’s mandatory vaccine program which is then approved by the health commissioner and governor. The state legislature is bypassed in the process and the concerns of the public are typically ignored6 —parents and children, the individuals most affected by the vaccine decision-makers have no representation in the matter.
Enter Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, a physician and vocal advocate against mandatory vaccines. Dr. Tenpenny, with a thriving integrative medical practice in Cleveland, Ohio says she has seen far too many devastated parents whose children developed serious medical problems after they were vaccinated. Many of them had to make on the spot decisions in the doctor’s office about whether to proceed with a vaccination. Armed with the proper information, they would have said no.7
To help parents faced with increased pressure to vaccinate their children before they can enter school or daycare, Dr. Tenpenny has recently written a book called Saying NO To Vaccines. The book advises them on how they can legally avoid mandatory vaccinations for their children — and provides them with powerful arguments based on the scientific literature to refute doctors and administrators who insist that vaccines don’t harm the immune system or cause chronic disease.8
According to Dr. Tenpenny, the anti-vaccine movement is gaining momentum at the grassroots level because of the strong scientific evidence that proves they do more harm than good. And perhaps for the rest of us, it’s not a moment too soon.
A new group called People for Immunization (PFI) headed by Dr. Paul Offit (co-inventor and co-patent holder of the rotavirus vaccine) and backed by the CDC, plans to crisscross the US speaking to the public, health professionals, and organizations to promote the science-based value of immunizations.
One of their stated goals is to advocate strongly to improve the appalling low adult vaccination rates in the United States.9 They also tell us to watch for plans for more mandatory vaccines for adults.9
Unless I’m missing something, PFI seems to conveniently overlook the fact that the vast majority of adults are not falling ill from communicable diseases. What do we need to be vaccinated against?
If PFI’s goals alarm you as much as they do me, you can log on to Dr. Tenpenny’s website and join the Coalition Against Mandatory Vaccines. And on the website of the American Association of Health Freedom you can find out more about the Coalition and how to offer your support. As Dr. Tenpenny advises, we must stand up and be heard if we want to preserve our right to refuse mandatory vaccines.
References
- http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-10-21-home-school-vaccinate_N.htm.
- http://www.aapsonline.org/testimony/mandvac.htm.
- http://njvaccinationchoice.org/.
- http://www.umdnj.edu/about/news_events/releases/07/r020807_CDCReleases_StudyofAutismRates.htm.
- http://www.childrens-specialized.org/press/pdf/Star%20LedgerNJshowshighrateofautism.pdf.
- http://njvaccinationchoice.org/topten.html.
- http://drtenpenny.com/eye_opener.aspx.
- http://www.healthtruthrevealed.com/articles/1303027903/article.
- http://drtenpenny.com/camv.aspx.
Rate this article by clicking on the stars below.
(7 votes, average: 4.71 out of 5)
Loading ...
LOVE This article… I am organizing an “Educate Before You Vaccinate” event here in Dallas on April 18th. Could use some support in promoting it!
April Renee and Gary Tunsky will talk not only about the risks of the vaccines and the changing patterns of disease behavior (ie striking older age groups rather than childhood- vaccines do not give lifelong immunity)
They will also speak about life choices that will help minimize potential illnesses AND techniques showing promise at minimizing the behaviors and symptoms of vaccine injury.
More info here. http://www.entheoshealth.com April 18th- North Dallas Galleria Area 2:00 pm. at the Center for Spiritual Living. Call 214 234-9662 to give RSVP for headcount.
My soon-to-be three year old grandson has been diagnosed with autism. We are convinced it is because of his vaccines. He was a “normal” baby — responsive, smiling, happy. But after his one-year old shots, he became withdrawn and quiet. We saw the changes before our eyes. It makes me really angry that the government disputes there’s any connection between autism and vaccinations. Autism has become an epidemic, but they are still pushing these mega-doses of vaccinations that did contain one of the most toxic substances known to man — mercury!
Finally someone is doing something against these mandatory, hurtfull immunizations!
More power to all of you in your fight.
Unfortunately, my son has already been irrevocably damaged by the vaccines and there is no way to undo this damage, much as I wish I could.
This article is useless in the sense that it is supposed to makeyou worried but it does not inform in an intelligent way as where to find what in order to be educated.
I have not learned anything. Not even one example was discussed with statistics to indicate the pros and cons of any vaccine.
This article seems to have been put together by a script writer and I would rate it as less than one star!
Lodewyk,
Since the author had a specific subject to discuss, and since she gave quite a list of references for further info, I think you were a bit hard on her. Try some of her references.
Thanks for the article, THB and Melanie.
I am 72 yrs of age and have been a big fan of eveything American,but in the last few years I have become very disillusioned with what your government has been achieving with regard to Health.The reports I read ( and there are many from letters and Emails make me wonder WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE `LAND OF THE FREE`)
Your police and officials under orders of the state seem to have powers greater than the the Gestapo in the last war.It appears that the FDA are a law unto themselves,if the reports can be believed.Unfotunately the rest of the FREE world is now following your leaders and are copying the same regulations with regards to children s injections before allowing them to attend school.I dread to think what my childrens grandchildren will look like in the years to come .
While I too am concerned about the increasing number of required vaccinations, I would like to comment on the author’s notion of homeschooling which really jumped out at me. People homeschool for a myriad of reasons. Some for religious reasons or anti-establishment reasons, yes, but there are many other reasons to homeschool. A desire to avoid vaccinations would be one, as the author discovered. Many of us (I’m a former homeschool mom) homeschool because we are incredibly disappointed with the quality of education provided in the public schools. I stopped homeschooling only when my children gained admittance to a top high schools at which point I felt confident that the school could teach them more effectively. Many of the homeschool moms I know are very impressive former professionals in their own right. I would encourage the author, in addition to writing informative health articles, to explore the homeschool phenomenon more deeply. We’re quite a varied and interesting group.
Thank you for informing parents of the tragic comsequences of officials who really dont care about our precious children.
Unfortunately this article appears to be more of a rant against immunization than the kind of balanced, informed information that we normally expect from the Early to Rise group. Immunization should be scrutinized just the same as any other product offered by the pharmacutical companies who’s only motive is profit, and who are more than happy to research against natural remedies that can’t be patented. To totally dismiss immunization without acknowledging the benefits that have resulted from it is irresponsible and below the stangard we normally expect from ETR. We no longer lose thousands of lives in epidemics the way we did in previous centuries.
Some balance please!
There is a lot of great information and informative resources at the NJ Alliance for Informed Choice in Vaccination. They have been involved with the issue for over 10 years. Their website is http://www.NJAICV.org
I am a home school mom that has a BA, MS and a JD. I home schooled because I did not want my gifted child around a lot of inferior teachers and a bunch of drugged up kids. Anything the government controls is toxic.Schools and the FDA included. Our government representatives are corporate whores. They have never met lobbyist’s money they did not like. (Except for Dr. Ron Paul.) As far as the person who says they want a “balanced” article, get real, you are given a daily dose of disinformation and the least little thing that does not agree with your propagandized reality disturbs you. There is no doubt that vaccines cause autism and any dirty bastard like Big Pharma talking head Dr. Offit that tries to tell you otherwise is a damn liar! You want evidence of a “study”. Study results are paid for. Liars with credentials. The real study is the 6 million healthy babies that were vaccinated with contaminated poisons and developed Autism. Who do you believe, there mothers, or the evil creeps that profit off this tragedy.
We recently launched the New Hampshire Coalition for Vaccination Choice. If you live in NH and believe that it is your fundamental right to exercise informed consent for vaccination (a medical procedure that can result in injury or death), please go to our site and get on our mailing list.
There are active coalitions in NH, NJ, NY, and MD. Also, Florida has something in the works too.
This is not the time to sit by and let the money do the talking and trounce on your rights to your body. Get active, get involved, make a difference!
There are two conditions in life: accept things as they exist, or
accept responsibility for changing them.
~Dr. Denis Waitley
Kudos to both Ros and Elaine McKillop for shedding a bit more truth on the topic.
Great topic, well written, but Melanie, I am shocked it took an article in 2008 on autism to help adjust your thinking about homeschooling! Did you also hold the notion that us parents kept our kids out of school to help with housework, tend other children, and because as Moms we were just too lazy to get out of bed in the mornings to get our children off to meet the school bus? I heard those comments from a district Superintendent years ago! Little did he know, we simply wanted a real education for our kids.
Bypassing the vaccinations (or most of them) definitely put our children on the “at risk” list sooner than later. But, for those of you that have not seen the 12 criteria on that particular list, delinquent vaccinations is not the worst offense to land your child categorized “at risk” by governing officials. You can be too fat! Work too much, or not enough. If nothing else works, jump on over to number 12: Other.
Follow the money trail. School districts get paid about twice the funding for kids who are “at risk” or in special education programs. Just think about it… what motivates any school to wish to help little Johnny get “better” if they lose half their income by doing so?
I won’t go into the impact this can have on entire communities here - every elementary school in our district is a Title I funded school - “at risk”. Do doctors want to move here? Can we attract family wage jobs?
The vaccination issue is just one of the things cats do in sandboxes that folks generally would prefer to leave covered up.
Okay, so we missed out on mastery of the grilled cheese sandwich, and estimating the number of blades of grass on a football field. The trade off for not getting my children their Certificates of Initial or Advanced Mastery is that when they got into what folks kept referencing as “the real world”, people wanted to hire them, offer them scholarships to college, and advance them in the work place. Why? Because they could think, work, and were healthy!
They see medical doctors when they are required to have a physical, or when they are having children of their own. Otherwise… they go to work. Ten years of being taught at home may not have taught them to do my chores, but it did help them learn to do their own, even as married adults with families of their own.
Imagine… surviving without all those immunizations, and leading healthy, productive, intelligent lives.
Down under in Australia there is also a strong debate to force compulsory vacinations.
I have done a lot of personal research over the years as i had a baby who had many very severe allergies and i was very concerned about anything that might compromise his immune system further. Thankfully most doctors were very understanding when i discussed my concerns and all backed off immediately when i told them of severe allergies. One doctor even told me how she “held her breath” when she traditionally vacinated her children but thankfully she appeared to have no complications. Hereby confirming that the medical profession do know there ARE PROBLEMS with injectable vaccines / immunizations.
What is not often discussed is that there is ANOTHER EASY OPTION other than forced pharmaceutical injections or just doing nothing. After much research I found a very safe & in my opinion very effective option for my family was using Homeopathic Immunization. I am not a natural practioner of any kind so i chose this option as it was safe, cost effective & easy. Traditional homeopathy treats the disease only when symptoms occur - i personally found this option worrying as i was not a trained practitioner - so i chose the Homeopathic Immunization Approach. The governemnt here in Australia accepts it as a form of immunization if you keep records of when you administer each dose. It can be a bit tricky to find a practitioner who mixes these medicines but it is definately worth the time to research a little and ask around. It’s a small price to pay for peace of mind. As these immunizations are taken in small doses orally the body can safely pass out any substance it does not require. I can administer a tiny dose myself when i observe my child is at optimum health - an additional plus for avoiding any side effects. I usually give one type of medicine at a time to be extra sure i can isolate any problems - none to date. Also an added bonus is when i suspect my child comes in contact with children who do have a contagious disease, measles, mumps, chickenpox , whooping cough etc, i just give him an extra dose or two of drops/tablets of whatever the suspected disease is and he gets an instant small dose to boost his immune system. When he was a very tiny baby i gave him the whooping cough dose as there was supposed to be a bad lot going round. So he was covered before all the other babies even had their traditional first vaccine. Let me state that my understanding is that this does not necessarily mean that he will not catch anything but only that he will have a more naturally occuring resistance that is built up little by little to fight infections off in a more natural way as the body is designed to do. To date he has not caught anything using this method even though he has been exposed to infectious diseases on many occassions.
Traditionally injected immunizations do NOT stop children catching disease as most people seem to believe or perhaps i should say are led to believe.
Over the past 10 years I have discussed vaccination with many friends and aquaintences and it is surprising how many have had complications some slight (fever, vomiting, sleeplessness, grizzling etc) to some very severe -even life threatening. Some are even part of a huge class actions due to contaminated vaccines.
One person i know of is currently fighting for his life with recurring tumours and he is believed to be the only one still alive from the group of children who were given a mystery test vaccine some years back. Dead people tell no tales!
Another has had her spleen completely destroyed as have many others who were contaiminated by this batch of vaccine.
I’ve met parents who are convinced the vaccine has caused Autism in previously healthy children & one of my friends remembers a child in his school class who went to have a standard immunization shot in her teens and who returned to school in a wheelchair and brain damaged a short time later. Many of these families are convinced beyond a shaddow of a doubt that it was the immunizations that have been the turning point of these problems. But few doctors will take them seriously or say there is no proof as it did not obviously occur within a short period of the injection. In any case who of these unfortunate people have the time, energy or money to take on the huge pharmaceutical giants - especially when their lives are consumed with the struggles of their additional every day burdens. It is convenient for the drug companies to sweep these poor souls under the carpet and turn a blind eye to what they don’t want to hear. How many other families have been devasted by health problems that show up months or years later in their children? How many have even possibly been attributed back to the immunizations? - Perhaps even many growing behavioural problems are linked here.
After 10 years i’m convinced i’ve made the right decision in using an alternative safer method to immunise my child. I would encourage each parent to investigate the subject thoroughly and make an informed choice. Do not be pushed into accepting only the drug companies option of so called “protecting your child” without investigation first. Think outside of the circle!