The vaccine decision is one of the most important choices we can make as parents. However, in questioning vaccines, we open ourselves up to a great deal of criticism, disapproval and accusations of child neglect from doctors, school administrators, public health officials, family members and other parents. How, they ask, do we dare question a practice that has prevented so many devastating diseases and saved so many lives? Aren't we putting our child and other children at risk for contracting serious diseases? After all, the government agencies designated to protect public health and most doctors say that childhood vaccines are safe.

If you dig a little deeper into the issue, you'll find many gaps and limitations in the data and knowledge regarding vaccine safety. Unfortunately, vaccines are capable of causing serious damage to the health of a child. Because they contain lab-altered viruses, bacteria and other toxic substances, vaccines have the inherent ability to cause mild to severe brain or immune system damage, or even death, depending on the vaccine given, the combination of vaccines given, the health of the child at the time of vaccination, and the genetic or biological factors that predispose the child to these complications.

Vaccines are potent and toxic drugs that contain formaldehyde, mercury derivatives, aluminum, antibiotics and other toxic components. Vaccine Reactions Most doctors do not bother to report adverse reactions, and it is estimated that only between one and ten percent of vaccine reactions are ever reported. Even so, between 12,000 and 14,000 adverse reactions (including hospitalizations, injuries and death) are reported annually to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Chronic diseases and disabilities in children have risen dramatically as vaccination rates for a growing number of vaccines climb higher than ever before.

Vaccine Reactions

There are two types of vaccine reactions – short-term and long-term. Short-term reactions occur soon after receiving a vaccine. These can include fevers, allergic responses, deafness, high-pitched screaming, prolonged crying, developmental regression, convulsions, paralysis, brain inflammation and central nervous system damage resulting in temporary or permanent disabilities, and death. The majority of children seem to survive vaccinations unscathed by immediate serious adverse reactions, but no tests are in place to determine in advance if your child will react to vaccines. Long-term or delayed reactions to vaccines can be less obvious and are seldom studied, but a growing number of scientists, researchers, parents, and doctors agree that vaccines can cause autism, epilepsy, mental retardation, learning disabilities, and behavior disorders such as ADD/ADHD, in addition to long-term immune system damage.

Manipulating the immune system with 33 doses of 10 different vaccines before the age of five weakens immunity, leaving the child vulnerable to other infectious diseases. Some qualified scientists are suggesting that mass immunization is directly contributing to the now widespread increase in auto-immune, degenerative disease and allergic conditions. Many parents and practitioners generally agree that children who are not vaccinated are healthier overall than vaccinated children, although no studies have been done to confirm this yet.

Universal Vaccines for Everyone?

Does it make sense to mandate vaccines for every child given the risks involved? The public health strategy for eliminating diseases includes universal vaccines for everyone, regardless of risks to the individual. Some children must be sacrificed in order to achieve the goal of eradicating disease in a population. They tell us that more lives will be lost to the disease if we don't vaccinate against it. But is this statement really true in the current reality of high-tech medicine in a population with effective sanitation and knowledge about the immunology of breastfeeding?

We cannot wipe out every disease on the planet. It may be more sensible to focus on strengthening our children's immune systems to deal with the increasing number of different "superbugs" created by the inappropriate and massive use of antibiotics than to inject numerous toxins into their delicate, developing bodies. If we use breastmilk, good nutrition, herbs, homoeopathy, or other immune-enhancing methods to keep our children's immune systems strong, then why would we want to inject foreign material and toxins into their bodies, especially since there have been no long term studies done to prove their safety? An increasing number of parents are not willing to take the risk of sacrificing their child to a point of view that goes against their core beliefs about health and wellness.

Parents Do Have A Choice

At the doctor's office, parents are given a two-page "Vaccine Information Statement" which highlights the importance of vaccines and downplays the harmful effects. Many parents are coerced into vaccinating their children with the threat of losing their doctor, having their children denied school attendance, and charges of medical neglect. Children have actually been taken away from their parents, forcibly vaccinated, and placed in the care of the "state" when their parents chose to protect them from vaccines.

Informed consent means that an informed patient (or parent) should always have absolute freedom to accept or reject any specific medical treatment or procedure. The patient (or parent) has the right to be treated sensitively and compassionately while learning about his or her options. The doctor is both ethically obligated and legally required to participate in a communication process that helps the patient to understand risks and benefits as well as alternatives.

There are informed consent statutes and case laws in all 50 states in the U.S. Why don't these revered informed consent laws apply when it comes to vaccines? Parents are almost never told about exemptions to state vaccine laws. They are usually told they do not have a choice.

The Association of American Physicians is deeply concerned that vaccine policy is based on incomplete studies of efficacy and potential adverse effects of the vaccines and results in the violation of informed consent. "While we acknowledge that vaccines in the past have prevented many serious illnesses, they also have the potential to do great harm if given to the wrong individual," says Jane Orient, M.D. "That decision must be made by the patient (or parent) in consultation with their physician -- not through coercion by a government agency or school district."

Making an Informed Decision

We have the right to select the kind of preventive health care that is appropriate for our family. We should never be forced to accept any medical procedure that carries the risk of injury or death against our will. Making an informed decision requires that we evaluate the needs of our family and seriously assess the pros and cons of each vaccine within this context. If we wish to keep our children's bodies free from harmful toxins and develop healthy immunity naturally, we have every right to say no to vaccines.

When my baby was two months old, I made a decision to delay all vaccines until she was at least one year. This gave me time to do the research and become informed. This also gave her immune and nervous system a chance to develop naturally so she would be less vulnerable to vaccine toxins if I decided to allow them in the future. After a year of full investigation into the issue, I made a firm decision that my daughter would not receive any vaccines at all. I am comfortable in this decision, knowing it was made after being fully informed of all aspects of the issue.

Some parents, after weighing all the information, select only the vaccines they feel are important for their children. Other parents may choose to delay vaccines and not follow the "recommended schedule". You can choose some of the vaccines and refuse others.

If you choose to vaccinate, there are some safety precautions you can take:

• Get individual vaccines separately instead of in combination with other vaccines.
• Don't let your children be vaccinated for more than one disease on the same day.
• Don't allow your children to be vaccinated when they are sick or recovering from an illness.
• Don't let your children get an unnecessary booster. You can ask for a blood test for antibodies to the disease. If they have enough antibodies, they will not need any boosters and this proof of immunity can be used for school attendance.

Exemptions Recommendations by the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices are translated into mandates by state health departments. In turn, school districts require certain vaccines as a condition of attendance. You have a legal right to exempt your children from vaccines in order for them to attend school. All states have medical exemptions (these must be signed by a doctor), 48 states have exemptions for religious beliefs, and 15 states have exemptions for philosophical beliefs.

Claiming the philosophical exemption in some states (California, for example) is as easy as signing the statement on the back of the school's vaccination record or providing a letter which states that vaccination is against your personal beliefs. As long as you sign this form, there should be no questions and your child should be admitted to school. A religious exemption can be a little trickier, sometimes requiring a letter from a recognized church, but in many cases a parent can write a letter simply stating vaccinations are against their religious beliefs. If you are seeking an exemption, get a copy of your state immunization law and follow exactly what it says about what is needed for an exemption. Many parents are not aware that these exemptions exist since public health officials, doctors, or school administrators never mention them and will even deny their existence.

The Captive Multi-Billion Dollar Vaccine Market

The majority of people believe that vaccines are the supreme solution to disease and the greatest gifts ever bestowed upon children. Parents who decide not to vaccinate are viewed as neglectful of their own children and willing to put other children at risk. What fuels this belief?

In America's money-driven vaccine campaign, the vaccine manufacturers use the government, doctors, and school officials to effectively market their products. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepts safety data from the manufacturers and licenses vaccines used in the U.S. After licensing, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), appointed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), makes recommendations on doses and ages for the use of these vaccines in children. ACIP immunization recommendations are extremely influential and enacted into law as mandates by individual states. Many members of both the ACIP and the FDA's advisory committees have recently been found by the Government Reform Committee to have blatant conflicts of interest, with strong financial ties to the pharmaceutical companies that make vaccines.

The Government Reform Committee has recently exposed these conflicts of interest, focusing on the approval of the rotavirus vaccine, which was found to cause severe bowel obstructions. This vaccine was pulled from the market. A substantial number of babies were injured and required surgery, and one baby died from the vaccine. It was found that the FDA's advisory committee members that approved the rotavirus vaccine were aware of the problems but voted to approve it anyway. Three out of these five members had financial ties to the pharmaceutical companies that were developing different versions of the rotavirus vaccine. This is not an isolated incident. Congressman Burton, the head of the Reform Committee remarked, "If the panels that have made the decisions on all vaccines on the Childhood Immunization Schedule had as many conflicts as we found with rotavirus, then the entire process has been polluted and the public trust has been violated."

A mandate for every child in the country to use their product gives vaccine manufacturers a steady and constant demand for their products. And since they are now protected from legal action by the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program of 1986, they are rushing to bring new vaccines to market, regardless of safety considerations. As more and more parents are beginning to mistrust vaccines, money is being spent to fund pro-vaccine organizations for public relations and damage control. Vaccine "experts" are hired to manipulate public opinion by denying the severity of adverse reactions and reinforcing the belief that the benefits of vaccines outweigh the risks.

Instead of becoming alarmed by reports of vaccine-induced brain damage and pushing for the unbiased research needed to determine why this is happening, vaccine manufacturers and government agencies embark on intensive public relations campaigns to make sure the public trust in vaccines has not been diminished in any way. Their main goal is to keep the vaccine program moving forward at any cost. As Randall Neustaedter, OMD warns parents in The Vaccine Guide: Making An Informed Choice, "Vaccines represent consumer goods – and parents should research this product far more carefully than other purchases because their children's lives could be at stake."

Protect Your Rights

We need to realize that our rights have been taken away in the process of trying to eradicate disease in a way that has questionable consequences on public health. A project of the federal government now underway is to implement an immunization tracking system. This registry will have medical and vaccine information on every child born in the U.S., including parental information. Insurance companies have access to this information, and the possibility exists of denial of coverage based on immunization status. Public health agencies will use this information to track and pressure parents into having their children vaccinated. Tracking systems already exist in several states, and other states are following. Some states have no provisions for parental consent or the right to privacy. We should appeal to our state legislators to protect our privacy and change the way mandatory vaccination laws are established. Parents must be informed about exemptions to these laws, and the exemptions must be safeguarded and expanded.

We, as a society, have become obsessed with fear of infectious disease. This is mainly because we don't understand it. We blindly put our faith in the medical establishment and public health officials who view disease as an enemy to exterminate at all costs, regardless of the number of damaged children and deaths that may occur in the process. When we accept these policies, we give our power over to the government and vaccine industry and let them intrude in our health care choices. The drug companies and government health officials need to be held accountable for the injuries, deaths and chronic illnesses caused by the vaccines they produce, promote, sell, and mandate for mass use. We, as parents, need to take our power back and make informed choices for our children.