You Can't Have Your Cake and Eat it Too: Thoughts on Refusing Vaccines

by Valorie Delp | More from this Blogger

14 Apr 2008 02:28 AM

Last month, I wrote about Hannah Polling, a girl whose vaccines caused her autism. Her parents won money from the Vaccine Injury Compensation program. It was a landmark case in part because it was one of the largest compensations for autism ever awarded. Autism advocacy groups were quick to print headlines that the CDC acknowledges that vaccines cause autism and the government was quick to tout studies that showed that vaccines don't cause autism. Before this the big 'vaccine' news was mandatory vaccinations in New Jersey that sent several hundred parents to court to prove that their children had them.

The big question is should parents be allowed to refuse vaccinations? On one side is parental rights These are, after all, our children. It is inconceivable, to be forced to do something to your child you feel is harming them. On the other side of the debate is the issue of public health. The fact of the matter remains, vaccinations cut down on diseases and the more children who don't get any, the more of a possibility it is to spread certain illnesses.

I have said before that we do a delayed vaccination schedule similar to the one Dr. Sears recommends. It yields a fully vaccinated child by the time he/she enters kindergarten. I assumed when we chose this course that we wouldn't be sending children to day care or preschool and that was fine with us. It never crossed my mind (it still doesn't frankly) to complain about my rights being violated.

Whether you choose to vaccinate or not, vaccination is considered a public health issue. I think there are valid reasons for not vaccinating and I think that parents have the right to refuse vaccinations at their choosing. But then I don't think that we have the right to demand entrance into any daycare we choose. It's not a violation of our rights to be denied entrance into certain day care facilities or preschools because of our choice not to vaccinate.

Valorie Delp shares recipes and kitchen tips in the food blog, solves breastfeeding problems, shares parenting tips, and current research in the baby blog, and insight, resources and ideas as a regular guest blogger in the homeschooling blog. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.

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Learn more about Valorie Delp

Hello everybody! My name is Valorie and I am one busy lady! When I'm not writing or editing for families, I am busy trying to get my brood of 5 in line.

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Samual (11722) 14 Apr 2008 04:22 AM

In the UK there is a big problem, people from eastern europe don't generally don't vaccinate at all, so recently there has been a boom in illnesses which we vaccinate against. As very few people here deny their children protection against disease we have had very few outbreaks of such diseases for decades and our break outs are tiny. Here you do not have to have vaccinations to go to school or nursery we don't have a rule against as until we have had mass immigration we have not had a problem. However if a teacher or work mate is pregnant everyone working in that facility or attending it have to be fully vaccinated with MMR. Also to say vaccines cause autism is very flawed, there is no proof what so ever, just like someone in the UK claiming that sausauges cause cancer. You will find if you take a group of vaccinated children and a group of non-vaccinated children the rates of autism are the same. There seems to have been alot more actual medical and scientific research about it in the UK than the US. Though I find it odd so many people trust a man who illegally took blood samples from children by giving them sweets and not informing the parents. I don't think anyone should be able to refuse vaccinations unless they keep their child on their own property away from other people.

Valorie Delp (49340) 14 Apr 2008 04:28 AM

Just to be clear. . .I have never said that vaccines cause autism. It's very interesting that you have laws to protect pregnant women. Here, to enter school, people must show proof of vaccinations but there are ways around it.

Samual (11722) 14 Apr 2008 04:38 AM

It isn't a law for pregnant women, it's like a union rule a moral issue. You don't need to form schools here of anything medical unless they need medication during the school day or medical treatment such as a diabetic studen, or it is contagious then they are not allowed into school until they have been deemed fit and non-contagious. As for some reason we are allowed to hand a student a knife or scalpel but we can't allow them to use their own medication, which is odd. But letters are constantly sent home to students parents as it is not fair that children can bring in diseases which are vaccinated against before symptoms show especially when you have high risk students such as those with CF.

Valorie Delp (49340) 14 Apr 2008 04:51 AM

I agree. It irks me to no end when parents knowingly send their children to school when they're ill and I tend to agree that vaccination is rather necessary. There are some vaccines here which I deem unnecessary--like the flu vaccine for example. (Rotavirus). Before you can register for school you have to provide proof of vaccination--but some states allow for religious exemption and of course homeschooled kids don't have to be vaccinated. This is how I've been able to delay vaccinations.

Samual (11722) 14 Apr 2008 05:29 AM

Not many people here bother with a Flu vaccine unless they are high risk, such as the elderly or those with immune problems. Here you don't have to provide your legal name to go to school so forcing people to bring medical records would make that rule nul I suppose. Here though most people have their vaccinations done at school, in reception the nurses come and give everyone MMR or a booster if they have already had one, then Meningitus jab when they are 8 I believe. Then when you are 14 they come around and test everyone for TB immunity then a week later it is jab time. I don't think they do tetnus and polio in schools anymore though, but if you injure yourself at school you are taken straight to hospital to have it done.

Valorie Delp (49340) 14 Apr 2008 05:34 AM

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

simplylife11 (18) 27 Sep 2008 11:43 AM

Yes, parents should have a right to refuse vaccinations however, that may mean missing out on something else, like preschool. I work for a large private pediatric practice and we have all agreed that if parents do not want to vaccinate their child then we will not continue to provide medical care for their child. There are several reasons for this. One, we do not want any other child exposed to severe illness if an unimmunized child is in our waiting room sick with one of the illnesses that we immunize for. We do not want to put our other patients at risk. Two, we have decided that we will not split vaccines because we are not going to be the ones to choose which ones to give and which ones to delay. We would not forgive ourselves if a baby contracts one of those illnesses in the process of splitting the vaccines.

Valorie Delp (49340) 27 Sep 2008 12:06 PM

Thanks for sharing. I think a lot of parents feel like it's a vindictive move on the part of a clinic not to continue to treat a child.