This Letter to the Editor was originally published here: http://holmdel.patch.com/articles/letter-to-the-editor-speaking-out-for-vaccination-choice
Holmdel mother urges others to object to a vote in the state legislature making it more difficult to declare a religious exemption
I am a mother of two, living in Holmdel, and I wish to state a grave concern of mine– the present lack of a conscientious exemption to vaccinations for our children in New Jersey.
I spoke with many Holmdel parents during the 2009-2010 swine flu scare, and many of you decided to reject the H1N1 vaccine for your children as you felt it was new, rushed into production, and not given proper safety testing prior to large scale distribution.
Whether you want to have your children receive some, none, or every single one of the recommended vaccinations, it should be your call as a parent, not that of unelected health department officials, nor your senators or congress people, who have no personal knowledge of your children’s health status.
All medical procedures, including vaccination, carry the risk of harm. Deaths from vaccination have occurred in our state, and that is why we have Holly’s Law, which allows titer testing to prove immunity, as an alternative to re-vaccination. Informed consent for all is the gold standard in medicine, and we should demand it in our state. The populous states of California and Texas allow Philosophical Exemptions to vaccination. New Jersey, thus far, does not.
In 2009, Holmdel Schools set up afterschool H1N1 vaccination clinics. Parents were asked to sign consent forms if they wanted their children to receive flu vaccinations.
There is a disturbing national trend toward placing permanent vaccination clinics directly into schools for the administration of all childhood vaccines. This school-based approach bypasses the parent/pediatrician decision making process.
If you are interested in preserving your rights as a parent to make medical decisions for your children I recommend a book by Louise Kuo Habakus and Mary Holland, Esq, entitled “Vaccine Epidemic, How Corporate Greed, Biased Science, and Coercive Government Threaten Our Human Rights, Our Health, and Our Children.”
As I type this on Feb. 15, Assemblyman Herb Conaway of District 7 is pushing forth a Concurrent Resolution, ACR 157, which does not require the approval or signature of our Governor. Assemblyman Conaway wants more stringent rules to apply to Religious Exemptions to vaccination in our state. Religious freedom, guaranteed to us under the First Amendment of the Constitution, is under attack.
Please contact Assemblyman Samuel Thompson at (732) 583-5558, Assemblywoman Amy Handlin at (732) 787-1170, and State Senator Joseph Kyrillos (732) 671-3206 to tell them to vote “No” to ACR 157 this Thursday, February 17, 2011. Tell them you want them to allow the Conscientious Exemption Bill A2450 to move forward in the legislature, too.
Flu vaccines are already mandated for schoolchildren aged six months to 59 months of age. If flu shots are mandated for children up to age 18 in the future, will you be allowed to refuse them? Demand your right to informed consent. Call the Assembly and your Senator right now.
Gayle from Holmdel