By Dr. Mercola
A paper published by the American Medical Association's Virtual Mentor is concerned that current enrollment in vaccine trials is extremely low.1 The proposed solution? Creating a federal law that would force each individual to make a "mandated choice" to participate in vaccine trials. Such a law would give drug companies a more or less guaranteed supply of human guinea pigs. According to the featured paper:
"... The lack of animal models that can reliably predict vaccine efficacy means that development still unavoidably relies on testing of novel vaccines in healthy individuals... In recent decades there has been a distressing decline in the numbers of healthy volunteers who participate in clinical trials, a decline that has the potential to become a key rate-limiting factor in vaccine development. ... The modest financial remuneration commonly provided often means that students and the unemployed make up the bulk of volunteers. As a result, the risks of developing a health intervention that would benefit the whole population are carried disproportionately by some of society's most poor and vulnerable. This is a situation few would judge to be fair or ethical. Compulsory involvement in vaccine studies is one alternative solution that is not as outlandish as it might seem on first consideration. Many societies already mandate that citizens undertake activities for the good of society; in several European countries registration for organ-donation has switched from "opt-in" (the current U.S. system) to "opt-out" systems... and most societies expect citizens to undertake jury service when called upon... Mandatory involvement in vaccine trials is... perhaps more akin to military conscription... In both conscription and obligatory trial participation, individuals have little or no choice regarding involvement and face inherent risks over which they have no control, all for the greater good of society."
Medical Tyranny of the Worst Kind!
From my perspective, the idea of compulsory involvement in vaccine trials "for the greater good of society" is not only outlandish, it's a complete abomination. It's tyranny of the worst kind, and the epitome of a heartless system based on broken ethics. Sadly, there are signs that we're already sliding in that direction. For example, consider the fact that the US government has already ok'd the testing of the incredibly controversial and dangerous anthrax vaccine on infants. And the fact that when 14 babies died in an Argentinean vaccine trial, the drug company, GlaxoSmithKline, was fined a measly $250,000.Again and again, we see that life is not valued as highly as the prospects or promises of financial profits... Human experimentation -- the practice of subjecting live human beings to science experiments that are sometimes cruel, painful, or deadly -- is a shameful part of U.S. history that you won't find in most history or science books. But it is a practice that is still continuing to this day, and if Susanne Sheehy and Joel Meyer, the authors of the featured paper, have anything to say about it, medical experimentation on ALL infants would not only be possible, it would be mandatory! Folks, this is an absolute nightmare; one that I hope will never actually come to fruition.
Know Your Rights!
While you may one day have to opt out of vaccine trials for your child, we're not quite there yet. However, you do need to educate yourself about your rights when it comes to vaccinating your child. There are currently three different types of exemptions you can use to avoid vaccinations of all kinds:
- Religious exemption
- Medical exemption
- Philosophical/conscientious exemption
Unfortunately, the religious exemption is being targeted for elimination by lobbyists working for pharmaceutical corporations and medical trade associations funded by Pharma. In some states, like New York, parents are being grilled about the sincerity of their religious beliefs by state officials and denied religious exemptions to vaccination for the purpose of barring their partially vaccinated or unvaccinated children from attending public schools. All 50 states allow a medical exemption to vaccination if you or your child has a verifiable medical reason to defer or avoid use of one or more vaccines. However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have eliminated most of the officially recognized contraindications for vaccination, to the point that almost no medical condition qualifies for a medical exemption to vaccination... Still, depending on where you live, you may have the option of using a philosophical or conscientious belief exemption. This exemption, like the religious exemption, is under attack by forced vaccination proponents. Only 18 states (listed below) still allow conscientious, personal or philosophical belief exemption to vaccination. These states come the closest to protecting a citizen's right to exercise voluntary, informed consent to vaccination in America:
| Arizona | California | Colorado |
| Idaho | Louisiana | Maine |
| Michigan | Minnesota | New Mexico |
| North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma |
| Rhode Island | Texas | Utah |
| Vermont | Washington | Wisconsin |
What You Can Do to Make a Difference
While it seems "old-fashioned," the only truly effective actions you can take to protect the right to informed consent to vaccination and expand vaccine exemptions, is to get personally involved with your state legislators and the leaders in your community. THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY. Mass vaccination policies are made at the federal level but vaccine laws are made at the state level, and it is at the state level where your action to protect your vaccine choice rights can have the greatest impact. Signing up for NVIC's free Advocacy Portal at www.NVICAdvocacy.org not only gives you access to practical, useful information to help you become an effective vaccine choice advocate in your own community, but when national vaccine issues come up, you will have the up-to-date information and call to action items you need at your fingertips to make sure your voice is heard. So please, as your first step, sign up for the NVIC Advocacy Portal.
Contact Your Elected Officials
NVIC will help educate you about how to write or email your elected state representatives and share your concerns. You might even want to call them, or better yet, make an appointment to visit them in person in their office. Don't let them forget you! It is so important for you to reach out and make sure your concerns get on the radar screen of the leaders and opinion makers in your community, especially the politicians you elect and are directly involved in making vaccine laws in your state. These are your elected representatives, so you have a right and a responsibility to let them know what's really happening in your life and the lives of people you know when it comes to vaccine mandates. Be sure to share the "real life" experiences that you or people you know have had with vaccination.
Internet Resources Where You Can Learn More
I encourage you to visit the following web pages on the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) website at www.NVIC.org:
- NVIC Memorial for Vaccine Victims: View descriptions and photos of children and adults, who have suffered vaccine reactions, injuries and deaths. If you or your child experiences an adverse vaccine event, please consider posting and sharing your story here.
- If You Vaccinate, Ask 8 Questions: Learn how to recognize vaccine reaction symptoms and prevent vaccine injuries.
- Vaccine Freedom Wall: View or post descriptions of harassment by doctors or state officials for making independent vaccine choices.
Connect with Your Doctor or Find a New One that Will Listen and Care
If your pediatrician or doctor refuses to provide medical care to you or your child unless you agree to get vaccines you don't want, I strongly encourage you to have the courage to find another doctor. Harassment, intimidation, and refusal of medical care is becoming the modus operandi of the medical establishment in an effort to stop the change in attitude of many parents about vaccinations after they become truly educated about health and vaccination. If you are treated with disrespect or are harassed in any way by a doctor (or government official), do not engage in an unproductive argument. You may want to contact an attorney, your elected state representatives or local media if you or your child are threatened. However, there is hope. At least 15 percent of young doctors recently polled admit that they're starting to adopt a more individualized approach to vaccinations in direct response to the vaccine safety concerns of parents. It is good news that there is a growing number of smart young doctors, who prefer to work as partners with parents in making personalized vaccine decisions for children, including delaying vaccinations or giving children fewer vaccines on the same day or continuing to provide medical care for those families, who decline use of one or more vaccines. So take the time to locate a doctor, who treats you with compassion and respect and is willing to work with you to do what is right for your child.References:
- 1 Virtual Mentor. January 2012, Volume 14, Number 1: 35-38
Source: Vactruth January 24, 2012
