Freedom or Vaccinations?

I had intended to write a post about how to encourage your kids to do their homework this week (for themselves and not for the parent), but in reading so many things lately about this H1N1 vaccine, I felt frustrated enough to voice my opinions about this first.

To start, I have NEVER been an advocate for the flu vaccine. I will not allow myself or my children to have it (nor does my husband). I had the shot one time many years ago and I became ill. By the way, I don't get the flu to begin with.

This morning on facebook, I saw this post by a friend- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C89dvM897yc, They are talking about potentially requiring the flu vaccination become mandatory in Massachusetts (or forcing; there really isn't a choice if you require someone to do something which in my mind becomes force). Are you kidding me? Do we live in a free country or closer to the fascist state talked about by many (including Mary in the book- Choosing Honor)? Since when have we given the government or better yet pharmaceutical companies control of our bodies and when will this be stopped? After they have injected our children with poison that will most surely affect the wellbeing of several children's lives forever???

Wake up people. Basically what these bureaucrats are telling you is that you're too stupid to make the decision for yourself and your child about what goes into your body. We aren't talking about government bozos spying on us or questioning us in airport security lines. We aren't talking about phone taps and profiling. We are talking about control of our body being given to the people who control the MONEY in this country (the world essentially). This is misuse and abuse of power on so many levels, if we don't stand up against this and fight these potential laws being put into practice we are failing both ourselves and our children.

We just recently moved back to our home state of NY. The first thing I did was begin researching the rules for vaccinations here. Talk about bureaucracy. In Virginia, a doctor's note is satisfactory to decline an immunization. Last year I declined my oldest son's DTP shot before school began, b/c his previous one was still good. My feeling was simple- why give him another shot for something that was still within the period of time the vaccine is good for? Here's the kicker. If I hadn't taken a stand and declined the vaccine last year, NY state's laws would have forced me to have the shot administered again, b/c they require the shot be within one year upon entering the state! I attempted to submit a letter from the doctor again, declining the shot (because remember he is still within the 10 year period; 6 to be exact, of the shot's effectiveness), but the school rejected it. The reason has to be in alignment with what the CDC has declared is acceptable for declining an immunization; not the fact that the one in his system is still effective. Next time I will declare religious exemption!

So to sum things up, had I been forced to give Adam the DTP shot last year combined with the mandatory force that he have it this year, he would have had the same shot 3 times in 6 years. As his parent, I don't have the right to say no thank you, because apparently I am too stupid to know what is and isn't good for my children.

Some may wonder why I didn't pursue the issue more forcefully given the way I feel. If it were any of my other children, I would have fought harder. Adam however, is both an athlete and physically strong which is a contrast to my other children who are more sensitive. Because he attends an athletic facility and is active all of the time, this shot is the one I feel okay with him having; that was the intuitive reason. He would not have been allowed to attend school (by the way the school would have been fined $2000 per day until his shot was up to date; who says the money isn't controlling this issue!); that was my practical reason. I will not back down however, with my younger children.

To date, my infant daughter has had no vaccinations. Our doctor feels very strongly that children under the age of 2 do not need immunizations. We have the shared knowing that when something has been irradicated, there is no need to vaccinate for it. If there were to be an outbreak we would need those vaccinations. With things like flu shots there is no exact match for the strain. Why then, would we inject our bodies with something that may or may not be effective? With the H1N1, have they had an adequate amount of time to test its effectiveness? Hello, I would say NO! Our bodies were designed (by a power higher than our government) to fight off illnesses by the strength of our immune system. When you inject your body with these things, you are not giving your body a chance to build a defense mechanism to combat these illnesses. Take chicken pox for example. We all had it as a childhood illness. We all survived and our immune system is better for it.

People need to pay attention to what's going on. We need to fight for the right to control what goes into our bodies. It's one thing to give up some privacy under the guise of "security;" it's one thing to be willing to pay more for things because the wealthy want to continue to line their pockets at the expense of the majority (ie. oil prices which has lead to higher gas prices); it's entirely another thing to give up the right to say no to something being injected into our bodies. We need to stop this from happening and we need to do it now!

This is where intuition becomes a vital part of our survival. I have said this before, but I will not ever claim to be an expert. If I claim to be an expert, I am asking you to give away your power to know the answers for yourself, to me. We can all seek guidance from others to support what we already feel intuitively, but in the end each of us has to find the answers for ourselves by listening to what feels right. How many people blindly accept vaccinations for their children, because their doctor says so? How many people actually do the research to find out why their kids shouldn't have a shot or even what the side effects may be? I won't claim to have done all of the research about what is contained in every immunization, but my inner voice has been very adamant about what I should allow, what I should avoid and which of my kids should and shouldn't have vaccinations. Doctors have admitted there is a small percentage of children who can develop disabilities (autism) from certain vaccines. Do you want that to be your child? I sure as heck don't.

Pay attention and ask questions. Now is the time to unite to change the rules before we have lost all of our power to do so. Take a stand!