Re: Parents use religion to avoid vaccines

October 17, 2007

This is true....but honestly there shouldn't be a system to where parents would

be forced to do this More parents are learning about exemptions and educating

themselves...the system has done it to themselves!

Lori

---- Kay <Casper3@...> wrote:

> http://news./s/ap/20071017/ap_on_re_us/vaccine_skeptics

>

> Parents use religion to avoid vaccines

> By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press Writer 32 minutes ago

>

> Rahim doesn't practice any particular faith, but she had no problem

signing a letter declaring that because of her deeply held religious beliefs,

her 4-year-old son should be exempt from the vaccinations required to enter

preschool.

>

> She is among a small but growing number of parents around the country who are

claiming religious exemptions to avoid vaccinating their children when the real

reason may be skepticism of the shots or concern they can cause other illnesses.

Some of these parents say they are being forced to lie because of the way the

vaccination laws are written in their states.

>

> " It's misleading, " Rahim admitted, but she said she fears that earlier

vaccinations may be to blame for her son's autism. " I find it very troubling,

but for my son's safety, I feel this is the only option we have. "

>

> An Associated Press examination of states' vaccination records and data from

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that many states are seeing

increases in the rate of religious exemptions claimed for kindergartners.

>

> " Do I think that religious exemptions have become the default? Absolutely, "

said Dr. Offit, head of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital in

Philadelphia and one of the harshest critics of the anti-vaccine movement. He

said the resistance to vaccines is " an irrational, fear-based decision. "

>

> The number of exemptions is extremely small in percentage terms and represents

just a few thousand of the 3.7 million children entering kindergarten in 2005,

the most recent figure available.

>

> But public health officials say it takes only a few people to cause an

outbreak that can put large numbers of lives at risk.

>

> " When you choose not to get a vaccine, you're not just making a choice for

yourself, you're making a choice for the person sitting next to you, " said Dr.

Lance Rodewald, director of the CDC's Immunization Services Division.

>

> All states have some requirement that youngsters be immunized against such

childhood diseases as measles, mumps, chickenpox, diphtheria and whooping cough.

>

> Twenty-eight states, including Florida, Massachusetts and New York, allow

parents to opt out for medical or religious reasons only. Twenty other states,

among them California, Pennsylvania, Texas and Ohio, also allow parents to cite

personal or philosophical reasons. Mississippi and West Virginia allow

exemptions for medical reasons only.

>

> From 2003 to 2007, religious exemptions for kindergartners increased, in some

cases doubled or tripled, in 20 of the 28 states that allow only medical or

religious exemptions, the AP found. Religious exemptions decreased in three of

these states - Nebraska, Wyoming, South Carolina - and were unchanged in five

others.

>

> The rate of exemption requests is also increasing.

>

> For example, in Massachusetts, the rate of those seeking exemptions has more

than doubled in the past decade - from 0.24 percent, or 210, in 1996 to 0.60

percent, or 474, in 2006.

>

> In Florida, 1,249 children claimed religious exemptions in 2006, almost double

the 661 who did so just four years earlier. That was an increase of 0.3 to 0.6

percent of the student population. Georgia, New Hampshire and Alabama saw their

rates double in the past four years.

>

> The numbers from the various states cannot be added up with accuracy. Some

states used a sampling of students to gauge levels of vaccinations. Others

surveyed all or nearly all students.

>

> Fifteen of the 20 states that allow both religious and philosophical

exemptions have seen increases in both, according to the AP's findings.

>

> While some parents - Christian Scientists and certain fundamentalists, for

example - have genuine religious objections to medicine, it is clear that others

are simply distrustful of shots.

>

> Some parents say they are not convinced vaccinations help. Others fear the

vaccinations themselves may make their children sick and even cause autism.

>

> Even though government-funded studies have found no link between vaccines and

autism, loosely organized groups of parents and even popular cultural figures

such as radio host Don Imus have voiced concerns. Most of the furor on Internet

message boards and Web sites has been about a mercury-based preservative once

used in vaccines that some believe contributes to neurological disorders.

>

> Unvaccinated children can spread diseases to others who have not gotten their

shots or those for whom vaccinations provided less-than-complete protection.

>

> In 1991, a religious group in Philadelphia that chose not to immunize its

children touched off an outbreak of measles that claimed at least eight lives

and sickened more than 700 people, mostly children.

>

> And in 2005, an Indiana girl who had not been immunized picked up the measles

virus at an orphanage in Romania and unknowingly brought it back to a church

group. Within a month, the number of people infected had grown to 31 in what

health officials said was the nation's worst outbreak of the disease in a

decade.

>

> Magni, a 35-year-old stay-at-home mother in Newton, Mass., said she is

afraid vaccines could harm her children and " overwhelm their bodies. " Even

though she attends a Protestant church that allows vaccinations, Magni pursued a

religious exemption so her 4-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son, who have

never been vaccinated, could attend preschool.

>

> " I felt that the risk of the vaccine was worse than the risk of the actual

disease, " she said.

>

> Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine

Information Center, one of the leading vaccine skeptic groups, said she

discourages parents from pursuing religious exemptions unless they are genuine.

Instead, Fisher said, parents should work to change the laws in their states.

>

> " We counsel that if you do not live in a state that has a philosophical

exemption, you still have to obey the law, " she said.

>

> Even so, Fisher said, she empathizes with parents tempted to claim the

religious exemption: " If a parent has a child who has had a deterioration after

vaccination and the doctor says that's just a coincidence, you have to keep

vaccinating this child, what is the parent left with? "

>

> Offit said he knows of no state that enforces any penalty for parents who

falsely claim a religious exemption.

>

> " I think that wouldn't be worth it because that's just such an emotional issue

for people. Our country was founded on the notion of religious freedom, " he

said.

>

> In 2002, four Arkansas families challenged the state's policy allowing

religious exemptions only if a parent could prove membership in a recognized

religion prohibiting vaccination. The court struck down the policy and the state

began allowing both religious and philosophical exemptions.

>

> Religious and medical exemptions, which had been climbing, plummeted, while

the number of philosophical exemptions spiked.

>

> In the first year alone, more parents applied for philosophical exemptions

than religious and medical exemptions combined. From 2001 to 2004, the total

number of students seeking exemptions in Arkansas more than doubled, from 529 to

1,145.

>

> Dr. Janet Levitan, a pediatrician in Brookline, Mass., said she counsels

patients who worry that vaccines could harm their children to pursue a religious

exemption if that is their only option.

>

> " I tell them if you don't want to vaccinate for philosophical reasons and the

state doesn't allow that, then say it's for religious reasons, " she said. " It

says you have to state that vaccination conflicts with your religious belief. It

doesn't say you have to actually have that religious belief. So just state it. "

>

October 17, 2007

the article says that resistance to vaccines is " an irrational, fear-

based decision. "

funny, but it's the other way around. I can't understand how doctors

can say this. Measles, whooping cough, and mumps are not a real

threat, but childhood cancers, asthma, autism, and poor immune

systems are.

And now that more and more parents are declining vaccines, are there

more outbreaks of these diseases.

And again, the thing I really don't understand is that they claim

vaccines make a child IMMUNE to childhood diseases, yet if there is

an unvaxxed child sitting next to them, they are in danger. I just

don't get it.

> > http://news./s/ap/20071017/ap_on_re_us/vaccine_skeptics

> >

> > Parents use religion to avoid vaccines

> > By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press Writer 32 minutes ago

> >

> > Rahim doesn't practice any particular faith, but she had

no problem signing a letter declaring that because of her deeply held

religious beliefs, her 4-year-old son should be exempt from the

vaccinations required to enter preschool.

> >

> > She is among a small but growing number of parents around the

country who are claiming religious exemptions to avoid vaccinating

their children when the real reason may be skepticism of the shots or

concern they can cause other illnesses. Some of these parents say

they are being forced to lie because of the way the vaccination laws

are written in their states.

> >

> > " It's misleading, " Rahim admitted, but she said she fears that

earlier vaccinations may be to blame for her son's autism. " I find it

very troubling, but for my son's safety, I feel this is the only

option we have. "

> >

> > An Associated Press examination of states' vaccination records

and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found

that many states are seeing increases in the rate of religious

exemptions claimed for kindergartners.

> >

> > " Do I think that religious exemptions have become the default?

Absolutely, " said Dr. Offit, head of infectious diseases at

Children's Hospital in Philadelphia and one of the harshest critics

of the anti-vaccine movement. He said the resistance to vaccines

is " an irrational, fear-based decision. "

> >

> > The number of exemptions is extremely small in percentage terms

and represents just a few thousand of the 3.7 million children

entering kindergarten in 2005, the most recent figure available.

> >

> > But public health officials say it takes only a few people to

cause an outbreak that can put large numbers of lives at risk.

> >

> > " When you choose not to get a vaccine, you're not just making a

choice for yourself, you're making a choice for the person sitting

next to you, " said Dr. Lance Rodewald, director of the CDC's

Immunization Services Division.

> >

> > All states have some requirement that youngsters be immunized

against such childhood diseases as measles, mumps, chickenpox,

diphtheria and whooping cough.

> >

> > Twenty-eight states, including Florida, Massachusetts and New

York, allow parents to opt out for medical or religious reasons only.

Twenty other states, among them California, Pennsylvania, Texas and

Ohio, also allow parents to cite personal or philosophical reasons.

Mississippi and West Virginia allow exemptions for medical reasons

only.

> >

> > From 2003 to 2007, religious exemptions for kindergartners

increased, in some cases doubled or tripled, in 20 of the 28 states

that allow only medical or religious exemptions, the AP found.

Religious exemptions decreased in three of these states - Nebraska,

Wyoming, South Carolina - and were unchanged in five others.

> >

> > The rate of exemption requests is also increasing.

> >

> > For example, in Massachusetts, the rate of those seeking

exemptions has more than doubled in the past decade - from 0.24

percent, or 210, in 1996 to 0.60 percent, or 474, in 2006.

> >

> > In Florida, 1,249 children claimed religious exemptions in 2006,

almost double the 661 who did so just four years earlier. That was an

increase of 0.3 to 0.6 percent of the student population. Georgia,

New Hampshire and Alabama saw their rates double in the past four

years.

> >

> > The numbers from the various states cannot be added up with

accuracy. Some states used a sampling of students to gauge levels of

vaccinations. Others surveyed all or nearly all students.

> >

> > Fifteen of the 20 states that allow both religious and

philosophical exemptions have seen increases in both, according to

the AP's findings.

> >

> > While some parents - Christian Scientists and certain

fundamentalists, for example - have genuine religious objections to

medicine, it is clear that others are simply distrustful of shots.

> >

> > Some parents say they are not convinced vaccinations help. Others

fear the vaccinations themselves may make their children sick and

even cause autism.

> >

> > Even though government-funded studies have found no link between

vaccines and autism, loosely organized groups of parents and even

popular cultural figures such as radio host Don Imus have voiced

concerns. Most of the furor on Internet message boards and Web sites

has been about a mercury-based preservative once used in vaccines

that some believe contributes to neurological disorders.

> >

> > Unvaccinated children can spread diseases to others who have not

gotten their shots or those for whom vaccinations provided less-than-

complete protection.

> >

> > In 1991, a religious group in Philadelphia that chose not to

immunize its children touched off an outbreak of measles that claimed

at least eight lives and sickened more than 700 people, mostly

children.

> >

> > And in 2005, an Indiana girl who had not been immunized picked up

the measles virus at an orphanage in Romania and unknowingly brought

it back to a church group. Within a month, the number of people

infected had grown to 31 in what health officials said was the

nation's worst outbreak of the disease in a decade.

> >

> > Magni, a 35-year-old stay-at-home mother in Newton, Mass.,

said she is afraid vaccines could harm her children and " overwhelm

their bodies. " Even though she attends a Protestant church that

allows vaccinations, Magni pursued a religious exemption so her 4-

year-old daughter and 1-year-old son, who have never been vaccinated,

could attend preschool.

> >

> > " I felt that the risk of the vaccine was worse than the risk of

the actual disease, " she said.

> >

> > Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National

Vaccine Information Center, one of the leading vaccine skeptic

groups, said she discourages parents from pursuing religious

exemptions unless they are genuine. Instead, Fisher said, parents

should work to change the laws in their states.

> >

> > " We counsel that if you do not live in a state that has a

philosophical exemption, you still have to obey the law, " she said.

> >

> > Even so, Fisher said, she empathizes with parents tempted to

claim the religious exemption: " If a parent has a child who has had a

deterioration after vaccination and the doctor says that's just a

coincidence, you have to keep vaccinating this child, what is the

parent left with? "

> >

> > Offit said he knows of no state that enforces any penalty for

parents who falsely claim a religious exemption.

> >

> > " I think that wouldn't be worth it because that's just such an

emotional issue for people. Our country was founded on the notion of

religious freedom, " he said.

> >

> > In 2002, four Arkansas families challenged the state's policy

allowing religious exemptions only if a parent could prove membership

in a recognized religion prohibiting vaccination. The court struck

down the policy and the state began allowing both religious and

philosophical exemptions.

> >

> > Religious and medical exemptions, which had been climbing,

plummeted, while the number of philosophical exemptions spiked.

> >

> > In the first year alone, more parents applied for philosophical

exemptions than religious and medical exemptions combined. From 2001

to 2004, the total number of students seeking exemptions in Arkansas

more than doubled, from 529 to 1,145.

> >

> > Dr. Janet Levitan, a pediatrician in Brookline, Mass., said she

counsels patients who worry that vaccines could harm their children

to pursue a religious exemption if that is their only option.

> >

> > " I tell them if you don't want to vaccinate for philosophical

reasons and the state doesn't allow that, then say it's for religious

reasons, " she said. " It says you have to state that vaccination

conflicts with your religious belief. It doesn't say you have to

actually have that religious belief. So just state it. "

> >

October 17, 2007

Again, we ask, if they’re so sure that vaccines work, why are they

afraid of a few thousand people that don’t vax? Why don’t they have

faith in their own poison?

Nita, yes my hands are full, but not my heart: 14, Jon 13,

10, 8, 6, Christian (RIP: 7/16/03 to 8/22/04), 2,

and due 2/08

Some minds are like concrete:

Thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.

No virus found in this incoming message.

Checked by AVG Free Edition.

Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.14.13/1074 - Release Date:

10/16/2007 2:14 PM

No virus found in this outgoing message.

Checked by AVG Free Edition.

Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.14.13/1074 - Release Date:

10/16/2007 2:14 PM

October 17, 2007

If they truly believe all this bull they're shoveling, I would think they

would be THRILLED that all us weirdos aren't vaccinating ourselves or our

kids (or our pets). The epidemics they keep warning us about will just kill

all of us off and spare them having to deal with us anymore. Right? *VBG*

Dawn T

>>> Again, we ask, if they're so sure that vaccines work, why are they

>>> afraid of a few thousand people that don't vax? Why don't they have

>>> faith in their own poison?

>>>

>>> Nita

October 17, 2007

They believe it undermines herd immunity.

On Oct 17, 2007, at 6:13 PM, Venita Garner wrote:

> Again, we ask, if they’re so sure that vaccines work, why are they

> afraid of a few thousand people that don’t vax? Why don’t they have

> faith in their own poison?

October 17, 2007

They leave themselves a loophole by claiming any given vaccine may not

create immunity in a small percentage of recipients. That way when a child

who HAS been vaxed comes down with the disease, they can say, Oh, they must

have been one of the rare few in which the vaccine didn't work.

Kay

Re: Parents use religion to avoid vaccines

> the article says that resistance to vaccines is " an irrational, fear-

> based decision. "

>

> funny, but it's the other way around. I can't understand how doctors

> can say this. Measles, whooping cough, and mumps are not a real

> threat, but childhood cancers, asthma, autism, and poor immune

> systems are.

>

> And now that more and more parents are declining vaccines, are there

> more outbreaks of these diseases.

>

> And again, the thing I really don't understand is that they claim

> vaccines make a child IMMUNE to childhood diseases, yet if there is

> an unvaxxed child sitting next to them, they are in danger. I just

> don't get it.

October 17, 2007

Seems to me that our voices are being heard.

Zurama

On 10/17/07, Shepard Salzer <_Shepard@...> wrote:

>

http://www.newsvantage.com/perl/p/wed/aw/Ayb111328609.R9Yj_HSH.html?day=Wed & ycg & \

g=news.front_page

>

> Offit causing problems again/still...

> S S

>

> _______________________________________________

> Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

> The most personalized portal on the Web!

>

October 17, 2007

-Oh so now we are " using " religon. Could be worse we could be making

tons of money to poison other people's kids.

I don't know about others, but I'm not using it. I actually beleive

it, and it's part of who I am, how I live, and how I raise my

family. I can't help that others reject God and are going to Hell

for that.

What Would Jesus Do? Not put mercury in the water and wine...

-- In , " Shepard Salzer "

<_Shepard@...> wrote:

>

http://www.newsvantage.com/perl/p/wed/aw/Ayb111328609.R9Yj_HSH.html?

day=Wed & ycg & g=news.front_page

>

> Offit causing problems again/still...

> S S

>

> _______________________________________________

> Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com

> The most personalized portal on the Web!

>

October 18, 2007

I think it is part of the desire to just eradicate religion all together

myself. If we can blame religion (or the use of it) for people not

being fully vaccinated, just another strike against letting people use

their religious freedom as an " excuse. " I prefer not to use the

religious exemption if another option is available, but am glad that at

least their still is religious freedom in those states that don't see

parental or philosophical rights as a reason to refuse poison.

If people on the street were selling thimerosal, MSG, formaldehyde and

the other toxins in a vaccine for the purpose of injection to alter

their physiological state and/or make money the government would step in

immediately to stop the practice and chase the criminals down - as they

do with meth. You can't even buy some cough medicines over the counter

without seeing the pharmacist first because of it! There are pretty

basic household items in meth too - so what makes that illegal while the

pharm companies are LEGALLY and forceably selling this garbage and

injecting the populace? Remember the " this is your brain on drugs "

commercials? We should form a PAC make a " this is your brain on

vaccines " commercial. I'm sure there would be something illegal about

speaking out against vaccines with paid advertising too though.

Sorry . . . guess I got up a bit testy today. . .

P.

Jan wrote:

>

> -Oh so now we are " using " religon. Could be worse we could be making

> tons of money to poison other people's kids.

>

> I don't know about others, but I'm not using it. I actually beleive

> it, and it's part of who I am, how I live, and how I raise my

> family. I can't help that others reject God and are going to Hell

> for that.

>

> What Would Jesus Do? Not put mercury in the water and wine...

>

> -

>

October 18, 2007

Sheri I totally agree with you... and when pressed, I refuse to answer follow up

questions

as to which " religion " or church I attend. My religion is my own. Where I do my

praying is

my business, too.

I hadn't seen that you posted this before I reposted the same article! :-)

>

> Problem is people living in the US are living in a police state. The rest

> of the world does NOT mandate vaccines for school attendance and elsewhere

> (except for France, some eastern European countries & possibly Italy still)

>

> #1 - the state writes the law for the religious exemption and the state is

> who words it a particular way.

> People are well within the law and their rights to use those exemptiions

> just as they are worded. They are doing nothing wrong. Who defines

> 'religious' anway?

>

> Here is the wording of Massachusetts law (article below from Boston)

> " " No child whose parent or guardian states in writing that vaccination or

> immunization conflicts with his sincere religious beliefs shall be required

> to present said physician's certificate in order to be admitted to school. " "

>

> Now what on earth is wrong with using that exemption. The vaccines DO

> conflict with your sincere religious beliefs. The exemption doesn't say

> you have to be Christian Scientist.

> To think that someone else can determine whether your refusal is religious

> or not, is pretty dangerous. To think that someone else can determine if

> you are genuine or not, is pretty dangerous

>

> This is an article written for the exact purpose of dividing people - to

> turn people against each other; to turn people against non-vaccinators

> And also to make people feel guilty for not protecting others - this

> concept is called Utilitarianism - a dangerous belief system

> You are supposed to sacrifice yourself/your child for the 'greater good' -

> whatever that is (determined by someone who has a financial incentive in

> most cases)

> The usual 'vaccinate-as-much-as-you-can' Offit spew

> Sheri

>

> http://news./s/ap/20071018/ap_on_re_us/vaccine_skeptics;_ylt=ArnP9d

> AH24IvJVWVZvHq_hms0NUE

>

> Parents use religion to avoid vaccines

> By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press Writer Thu Oct 18, 4:21 AM ET

>

> BOSTON - Rahim doesn't practice any particular faith, but she had

> no problem signing a letter declaring that because of her deeply held

> religious beliefs, her 4-year-old son should be exempt from the

> vaccinations required to enter preschool.

>

> She is among a small but growing number of parents around the country who

> are claiming religious exemptions to avoid vaccinating their children when

> the real reason may be skepticism of the shots or concern they can cause

> other illnesses. Some of these parents say they are being forced to lie

> because of the way the vaccination laws are written in their states.

>

> " It's misleading, " Rahim admitted, but she said she fears that earlier

> vaccinations may be to blame for her son's autism. " I find it very

> troubling, but for my son's safety, I feel this is the only option we have. "

>

> An Associated Press examination of states' vaccination records and data

> from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that many states

> are seeing increases in the rate of religious exemptions claimed for

> kindergartners.

>

> " Do I think that religious exemptions have become the default? Absolutely, "

> said Dr. Offit, head of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital in

> Philadelphia and one of the harshest critics of the anti-vaccine movement.

> He said the resistance to vaccines is " an irrational, fear-based decision. "

>

> The number of exemptions is extremely small in percentage terms and

> represents just a few thousand of the 3.7 million children entering

> kindergarten in 2005, the most recent figure available.

>

> But public health officials say it takes only a few people to cause an

> outbreak that can put large numbers of lives at risk.

>

> " When you choose not to get a vaccine, you're not just making a choice for

> yourself, you're making a choice for the person sitting next to you, " said

> Dr. Lance Rodewald, director of the CDC's Immunization Services Division.

>

> All states have some requirement that youngsters be immunized against such

> childhood diseases as measles, mumps, chickenpox, diphtheria and whooping

> cough.

>

> Twenty-eight states, including Florida, Massachusetts and New York, allow

> parents to opt out for medical or religious reasons only. Twenty other

> states, among them California, Pennsylvania, Texas and Ohio, also allow

> parents to cite personal or philosophical reasons. Mississippi and West

> Virginia allow exemptions for medical reasons only.

>

> From 2003 to 2007, religious exemptions for kindergartners increased, in

> some cases doubled or tripled, in 20 of the 28 states that allow only

> medical or religious exemptions, the AP found. Religious exemptions

> decreased in three of these states — Nebraska, Wyoming, South Carolina —

> and were unchanged in five others.

>

> The rate of exemption requests is also increasing.

>

> For example, in Massachusetts, the rate of those seeking exemptions has

> more than doubled in the past decade — from 0.24 percent, or 210, in 1996

> to 0.60 percent, or 474, in 2006.

>

> In Florida, 1,249 children claimed religious exemptions in 2006, almost

> double the 661 who did so just four years earlier. That was an increase of

> 0.3 to 0.6 percent of the student population. Georgia, New Hampshire and

> Alabama saw their rates double in the past four years.

>

> The numbers from the various states cannot be added up with accuracy. Some

> states used a sampling of students to gauge levels of vaccinations. Others

> surveyed all or nearly all students.

>

> Fifteen of the 20 states that allow both religious and philosophical

> exemptions have seen increases in both, according to the AP's findings.

>

> While some parents — Christian Scientists and certain fundamentalists, for

> example — have genuine religious objections to medicine, it is clear that

> others are simply distrustful of shots.

>

> Some parents say they are not convinced vaccinations help. Others fear the

> vaccinations themselves may make their children sick and even cause autism.

>

> Even though government-funded studies have found no link between vaccines

> and autism, loosely organized groups of parents and even popular cultural

> figures such as radio host Don Imus have voiced concerns. Most of the furor

> on Internet message boards and Web sites has been about a mercury-based

> preservative once used in vaccines that some believe contributes to

> neurological disorders.

>

> Unvaccinated children can spread diseases to others who have not gotten

> their shots or those for whom vaccinations provided less-than-complete

> protection.

>

> In 1991, a religious group in Philadelphia that chose not to immunize its

> children touched off an outbreak of measles that claimed at least eight

> lives and sickened more than 700 people, mostly children.

>

> And in 2005, an Indiana girl who had not been immunized picked up the

> measles virus at an orphanage in Romania and unknowingly brought it back to

> a church group. Within a month, the number of people infected had grown to

> 31 in what health officials said was the nation's worst outbreak of the

> disease in a decade.

>

> Magni, a 35-year-old stay-at-home mother in Newton, Mass., said she

> is afraid vaccines could harm her children and " overwhelm their bodies. "

> Even though she attends a Protestant church that allows vaccinations, Magni

> pursued a religious exemption so her 4-year-old daughter and 1-year-old

> son, who have never been vaccinated, could attend preschool.

>

> " I felt that the risk of the vaccine was worse than the risk of the actual

> disease, " she said.

>

> Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine

> Information Center, one of the leading vaccine skeptic groups, said she

> discourages parents from pursuing religious exemptions unless they are

> genuine. Instead, Fisher said, parents should work to change the laws in

> their states.

>

> " We counsel that if you do not live in a state that has a philosophical

> exemption, you still have to obey the law, " she said.

>

> Even so, Fisher said, she empathizes with parents tempted to claim the

> religious exemption: " If a parent has a child who has had a deterioration

> after vaccination and the doctor says that's just a coincidence, you have

> to keep vaccinating this child, what is the parent left with? "

>

> Offit said he knows of no state that enforces any penalty for parents who

> falsely claim a religious exemption.

>

> " I think that wouldn't be worth it because that's just such an emotional

> issue for people. Our country was founded on the notion of religious

> freedom, " he said.

>

> In 2002, four Arkansas families challenged the state's policy allowing

> religious exemptions only if a parent could prove membership in a

> recognized religion prohibiting vaccination. The court struck down the

> policy and the state began allowing both religious and philosophical

> exemptions.

>

> Religious and medical exemptions, which had been climbing, plummeted, while

> the number of philosophical exemptions spiked.

>

> In the first year alone, more parents applied for philosophical exemptions

> than religious and medical exemptions combined. From 2001 to 2004, the

> total number of students seeking exemptions in Arkansas more than doubled,

> from 529 to 1,145.

>

> Dr. Janet Levitan, a pediatrician in Brookline, Mass., said she counsels

> patients who worry that vaccines could harm their children to pursue a

> religious exemption if that is their only option.

>

> " I tell them if you don't want to vaccinate for philosophical reasons and

> the state doesn't allow that, then say it's for religious reasons, " she

> said. " It says you have to state that vaccination conflicts with your

> religious belief. It doesn't say you have to actually have that religious

> belief. So just state it. "

>

> --------------------------------------------------------

> Sheri Nakken, former R.N., MA, Hahnemannian Homeopath

> Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Nevada City CA & Wales UK

> Vaccines - http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccine.htm Email classes start

> October 17 & 18

>

October 18, 2007

What the hell is Offit talking about? I have to ask this question

again: if other kids sitting next to mine are vaccinated, then how can

there be an outbreak if their vaccines were effective?! I'm genuinely

confused.

October 18, 2007

> Offit said he knows of no state that enforces any penalty for

parents > who falsely claim a religious exemption.

>

> " I think that wouldn't be worth it because that's just such an

> emotional issue for people. Our country was founded on the notion of

> religious freedom, " he said.

ha ha ha. Wouldn't he love it if they would, though. Guess it wouldn't

be " worth it " so he'll stick with fear mongering and name calling.

Jerk.

Sara

October 18, 2007

don't be. He's the idiot. Manacat_11 <anacat_11@...> wrote: What the hell is Offit talking about? I have to ask this question again: if other kids sitting next to mine are vaccinated, then how can there be an outbreak if their vaccines were effective?! I'm genuinely confused. __________________________________________________

October 18, 2007

At 02:36 PM 10/18/2007 -0000, you wrote:

>Sheri I totally agree with you... and when pressed, I refuse to answer

follow up questions

>as to which " religion " or church I attend. My religion is my own. Where I

do my praying is

>my business, too.

and most states laws don't ask for your religion or to explain

Just stick to the law and word your statement exactly as the law.

Sheri

>

>I hadn't seen that you posted this before I reposted the same article! :-)

>

--------------------------------------------------------

Sheri Nakken, former R.N., MA, Hahnemannian Homeopath

Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Nevada City CA & Wales UK

Vaccines - http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccine.htm Email classes start

October 17 & 18

October 18, 2007

>

> Sheri I totally agree with you... and when pressed, I refuse to

answer follow up questions

> as to which " religion " or church I attend. My religion is my own.

Where I do my praying is

> my business, too.

Right on! But, when I am asked - I still like to say that I belong to

the Church of Child Welfare. Just for fun.

October 18, 2007

Yeah, I saw that in a newspaper tonight, didn't like what

Fisher said, about not using the religious exemption unless we

are genuine, what else do we have?! I am not jepordizing my kids

and waiting around for laws to be changed so we can have something else

To claim....sorry

-- Parents use religion to avoid vaccines

Problem is people living in the US are living in a police state. The rest

of the world does NOT mandate vaccines for school attendance and elsewhere

(except for France, some eastern European countries & possibly Italy still)

#1 - the state writes the law for the religious exemption and the state is

who words it a particular way.

People are well within the law and their rights to use those exemptiions

just as they are worded. They are doing nothing wrong. Who defines

'religious' anway?

Here is the wording of Massachusetts law (article below from Boston)

" " No child whose parent or guardian states in writing that vaccination or

immunization conflicts with his sincere religious beliefs shall be required

to present said physician's certificate in order to be admitted to school. " "

Now what on earth is wrong with using that exemption. The vaccines DO

conflict with your sincere religious beliefs. The exemption doesn't say

you have to be Christian Scientist.

To think that someone else can determine whether your refusal is religious

or not, is pretty dangerous. To think that someone else can determine if

you are genuine or not, is pretty dangerous

This is an article written for the exact purpose of dividing people - to

turn people against each other; to turn people against non-vaccinators

And also to make people feel guilty for not protecting others - this

concept is called Utilitarianism - a dangerous belief system

You are supposed to sacrifice yourself/your child for the 'greater good' -

whatever that is (determined by someone who has a financial incentive in

most cases)

The usual 'vaccinate-as-much-as-you-can' Offit spew

Sheri

http://news./s/ap/20071018/ap_on_re_us/vaccine_skeptics;_ylt=ArnP9d

AH24IvJVWVZvHq_hms0NUE

Parents use religion to avoid vaccines

By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press Writer Thu Oct 18, 4:21 AM ET

BOSTON - Rahim doesn't practice any particular faith, but she had

no problem signing a letter declaring that because of her deeply held

religious beliefs, her 4-year-old son should be exempt from the

vaccinations required to enter preschool.

She is among a small but growing number of parents around the country who

are claiming religious exemptions to avoid vaccinating their children when

the real reason may be skepticism of the shots or concern they can cause

other illnesses. Some of these parents say they are being forced to lie

because of the way the vaccination laws are written in their states.

" It's misleading, " Rahim admitted, but she said she fears that earlier

vaccinations may be to blame for her son's autism. " I find it very

troubling, but for my son's safety, I feel this is the only option we have. "

An Associated Press examination of states' vaccination records and data

from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that many states

are seeing increases in the rate of religious exemptions claimed for

kindergartners.

" Do I think that religious exemptions have become the default? Absolutely, "

said Dr. Offit, head of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital in

Philadelphia and one of the harshest critics of the anti-vaccine movement.

He said the resistance to vaccines is " an irrational, fear-based decision. "

The number of exemptions is extremely small in percentage terms and

represents just a few thousand of the 3.7 million children entering

kindergarten in 2005, the most recent figure available.

But public health officials say it takes only a few people to cause an

outbreak that can put large numbers of lives at risk.

" When you choose not to get a vaccine, you're not just making a choice for

yourself, you're making a choice for the person sitting next to you, " said

Dr. Lance Rodewald, director of the CDC's Immunization Services Division.

All states have some requirement that youngsters be immunized against such

childhood diseases as measles, mumps, chickenpox, diphtheria and whooping

cough.

Twenty-eight states, including Florida, Massachusetts and New York, allow

parents to opt out for medical or religious reasons only. Twenty other

states, among them California, Pennsylvania, Texas and Ohio, also allow

parents to cite personal or philosophical reasons. Mississippi and West

Virginia allow exemptions for medical reasons only.

From 2003 to 2007, religious exemptions for kindergartners increased, in

some cases doubled or tripled, in 20 of the 28 states that allow only

medical or religious exemptions, the AP found. Religious exemptions

decreased in three of these states — Nebraska, Wyoming, South Carolina —

and were unchanged in five others.

The rate of exemption requests is also increasing.

For example, in Massachusetts, the rate of those seeking exemptions has

more than doubled in the past decade — from 0.24 percent, or 210, in 1996

to 0.60 percent, or 474, in 2006.

In Florida, 1,249 children claimed religious exemptions in 2006, almost

double the 661 who did so just four years earlier. That was an increase of

0.3 to 0.6 percent of the student population. Georgia, New Hampshire and

Alabama saw their rates double in the past four years.

The numbers from the various states cannot be added up with accuracy. Some

states used a sampling of students to gauge levels of vaccinations. Others

surveyed all or nearly all students.

Fifteen of the 20 states that allow both religious and philosophical

exemptions have seen increases in both, according to the AP's findings.

While some parents — Christian Scientists and certain fundamentalists, for

example — have genuine religious objections to medicine, it is clear that

others are simply distrustful of shots.

Some parents say they are not convinced vaccinations help. Others fear the

vaccinations themselves may make their children sick and even cause autism.

Even though government-funded studies have found no link between vaccines

and autism, loosely organized groups of parents and even popular cultural

figures such as radio host Don Imus have voiced concerns. Most of the furor

on Internet message boards and Web sites has been about a mercury-based

preservative once used in vaccines that some believe contributes to

neurological disorders.

Unvaccinated children can spread diseases to others who have not gotten

their shots or those for whom vaccinations provided less-than-complete

protection.

In 1991, a religious group in Philadelphia that chose not to immunize its

children touched off an outbreak of measles that claimed at least eight

lives and sickened more than 700 people, mostly children.

And in 2005, an Indiana girl who had not been immunized picked up the

measles virus at an orphanage in Romania and unknowingly brought it back to

a church group. Within a month, the number of people infected had grown to

31 in what health officials said was the nation's worst outbreak of the

disease in a decade.

Magni, a 35-year-old stay-at-home mother in Newton, Mass., said she

is afraid vaccines could harm her children and " overwhelm their bodies. "

Even though she attends a Protestant church that allows vaccinations, Magni

pursued a religious exemption so her 4-year-old daughter and 1-year-old

son, who have never been vaccinated, could attend preschool.

" I felt that the risk of the vaccine was worse than the risk of the actual

disease, " she said.

Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine

Information Center, one of the leading vaccine skeptic groups, said she

discourages parents from pursuing religious exemptions unless they are

genuine. Instead, Fisher said, parents should work to change the laws in

their states.

" We counsel that if you do not live in a state that has a philosophical

exemption, you still have to obey the law, " she said.

Even so, Fisher said, she empathizes with parents tempted to claim the

religious exemption: " If a parent has a child who has had a deterioration

after vaccination and the doctor says that's just a coincidence, you have

to keep vaccinating this child, what is the parent left with? "

Offit said he knows of no state that enforces any penalty for parents who

falsely claim a religious exemption.

" I think that wouldn't be worth it because that's just such an emotional

issue for people. Our country was founded on the notion of religious

freedom, " he said.

In 2002, four Arkansas families challenged the state's policy allowing

religious exemptions only if a parent could prove membership in a

recognized religion prohibiting vaccination. The court struck down the

policy and the state began allowing both religious and philosophical

exemptions.

Religious and medical exemptions, which had been climbing, plummeted, while

the number of philosophical exemptions spiked.

In the first year alone, more parents applied for philosophical exemptions

than religious and medical exemptions combined. From 2001 to 2004, the

total number of students seeking exemptions in Arkansas more than doubled,

from 529 to 1,145.

Dr. Janet Levitan, a pediatrician in Brookline, Mass., said she counsels

patients who worry that vaccines could harm their children to pursue a

religious exemption if that is their only option.

" I tell them if you don't want to vaccinate for philosophical reasons and

the state doesn't allow that, then say it's for religious reasons, " she

said. " It says you have to state that vaccination conflicts with your

religious belief. It doesn't say you have to actually have that religious

belief. So just state it. "

--------------------------------------------------------

Sheri Nakken, former R.N., MA, Hahnemannian Homeopath

Vaccination Information & Choice Network, Nevada City CA & Wales UK

Vaccines - http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccine.htm Email classes start

October 17 & 18

October 18, 2007

I use the religious exemption for my 4 year old son. What else could I do if I

did not have that. The state of new Jersey does not allow Philosophical

exemption's. I don't like to lie but my son got sick with his 1st round. I would

never let him go through that again. My 14 year old daughter was vaxed until

4years old with no reactions, those were here last though.

bluheron <bluheron@...> wrote: Yeah, I saw that in a newspaper

tonight, didn't like what