By Mary Mucci
Assemblyman Dick Gottfried has the right idea. Easing the path to a religious waiver for vaccinations is likely to be an easier bill to pass than a philosophical exemption bill would.
As of now, parents in several Long Island school districts have had to undergo “sincerity Inquisitions.”
It seems the schools have appointed a lawyer to quiz parents and determine if they hold sincere religious beliefs. That, according to Dick Gottfried is wrong. I agree. Wasn’t this country founded by pilgrims searching for “religious freedom.?” Isn’t this freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution?
Imagine, those parents who are already struggling with a child on the autistic spectrum. Some I’ve met have been denied medical waivers. I think that’s outrageous. The child with autism is expected to continue with vaccinations as well as their siblings. I’ve noticed these issues tend to run in families. That seems to indicate that the younger children are at risk. And yet, as things stand, there is no waiver…for these parents.
The best hope other than this legislation is the fact that one causative factor can be tested for. That’s a mitochondrial disorder. Dr. Mike Gruttadauria at the Long Island Spectrum Center in Plainview is doing a urine acid test that checks to see if a child’s detoxification pathways ….and that their energy production cycles are working.
If the test reveals that a child has a mitochondrial disorder, then clearly the parents should not vaccinate. That is the very diagnosis that was credited with making Hannah Polling vulnerable to vaccine damage. You may remember: in that celebrated case the federal government conceded that her pre-existing mitochondrial disorder made her vulnerable to a bad vaccine reaction. But do we really know which came first? Did her mitochondrial disorder make her vulnerable to vaccine damage or did the vaccines themselves cause the mitochondrial disorder?
So what should you do? Well for one thing you should write to your assemblyman. Ask him to support Gottfried’s bill easing the criteria for a religious exemption and medical exemption . According to Gottfried “My bill would say that if the parents sign an affidavit that they have a religious objection to vaccination that would be the end of the story.” They could not be questioned about that, they could not be denied the exemption. In the case of the proposed bill covering medical exemptions…the parents need only to get the child’s physician to say it is not in the best interest of the child’s health.
To find out more about you can help make these bills law..go to www.mykidsmychoice.com.
To Your Health,
Mary Mucci
Contacts:
Assemblyman Dick Gottfried, {D, Manhattan}
Chairman of the House Health Committee
Sponsor of House Bills:
A00883 - Protects Religious Waiver
A00880 - Protects Medical Waiver
District Office: 250 Broadway, Suite 2242, New York, NY 10001
Tel: (212) 312-1492, 212 807- 7900
Albany Office: LOB 822 , Albany, NY 12248
Tel: (518) 455-4941
website
email: Assembly member Richard Gottfried
Dr. Mike Gruttadauria, Long Island Spectrum Center, Mitochondrial disorders– Plainview 516 470 9525
Rita Palmer, mom, activist- Bayport – Blue Point School District, www.mykidsmychoice.com
DR.STEVEN SILVERMAN;I OFTEN BLOG NEWS 12 AND I WANT TO COMMEND YOU FOR COMING FORTH WITH YOUR MEDICAL ADVICE .MY DAUGHTER WILL BE GOING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL AFTER GRADUATION THIS MAY AND HAS HOPES OF BECOMING A PEDIATRICIAN.SHE IS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE RECENT ARTICLES IN REGARD TO VACCINATING CHILDREN.SHES AFRAID THERE WILL BE WIDESPREAD DISEASES OF WHICH WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PREVENT FOR SO MANY YEARS.HER OLDER SISTER @ THE AGE OF TWENTY ONE CONTRACTED THE CHICKEN POX.THOUGH SHE WAS EXPOSED TO IT FROM HER YOUNGER BROTHER @ AGE SIX,SHE ONLY HAD A MILD CASE [email protected] THE AGE OF TWENTY ONE SHE WAS VERY SICK FROM THE OUTBREAK AND BEDRIDEEN FOR THREE WEEKS.SHE WAS UNABLE TO GO TO WORK OR TO COLLEGE FOR OVER A MONTH.I LITERALLY STAYED HOME FOR OVER TWO WEEKS TO CARE FOR HER.THATS HOW SICK SHE WAS.MY OLDER TWO CHILDREN WERE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO GET THE VACCINE ,AS WELL AS ALL THE OTHERS MADE AVAILABLE SINCE 1987.PLEASE KEEP ALL OF US INFORMED AND UP TO DATE IN THIS REGARD.SINCERELY SUSAN L.RUDNICK
Posted by: SUSAN L.RUDNICK | March 24, 2009 at 10:18 AM
the next thing we will hear about will be not to vaccinate our family cat and or dog!!!!!bringing religion into science is never a good idea.leave the medicine to the doctors and the religion to the clergy! susan l.rudnick of amityville
Posted by: susan l.rudnick | March 21, 2009 at 01:32 PM
I have sincere religous and spirtal beliefs against vaccination. What about the people who are telling the truth??? Should they be grilled???
Nine percent of the population is unvaccinated. Unvaccinated children are healthier than vaccinated children. What about the children who die after vaccinations...read the package insert of the vaccination...it does state neuropathy as a possible side effect. Mercury is not the only toxin in vaccinations and I am offended by the use of aborted human fetuses. You think that it is ethical to be injecting foreign animal particals, such as monkey kidneys in the blood of our children without sound scientific research to back this up...after all, isn't vaccination based on a "germ theory"??? How do you explain the increase in autism, juvenial diabetes, cancer, ADHD,asthma, allergies with the rise in the number of mandated vaccinations???
Educate with the facts and then decide...don't judge without walking in others shoes...our country was built on religous freedoms...you should really look into the truth...don't your children deserve to know the facts. People should make an educated choice for their family. Other countries don't mandate vaccinations and they don't have an epidemics going on. What do parents have to gain by fighting for children's rights??? What does big pharma have to gain???
If people are going to lie, they are going to lie. They can also lie about getting vaccinations as well, right??? I don't look as people as liers; I like to believe everyone is innosent/telling the truth as opposed to living a negative life thinking everyone around me could be lying???
Posted by: Diane | March 18, 2009 at 10:21 AM
Little Susie's parents didn't get her any of the childhood shots because of a "religious exemption". Little Susie then brings the disease to school. Little Johnny catches said disease and dies or nearly dies. Little Johnny's parents go to court and sue little Susie's parents.
Sounds far fetched, I know, but with the way people are lawsuit happy these days it could happen.
The vaccination schedule was originally designed by some pretty smart pediatricians (among others), and they know about small kids. The safest/best time to get your vaccinations is "on schedule". (if your child is premature, this may vary slightly)
Autism is unrelated to vaccinations, so no matter how many autistic relatives you have, you should still get your kids vaccinated. On time.
If not, leave your little Typhoid Mary at home, you crazy wackos.
Posted by: cheryl c. | March 16, 2009 at 08:37 PM
I'm no fan of vaccinations. I think that people should just let their kids get sick, except in extreme situations. Between forcing parents to actually spend time caring for their kids and the fact that too many vaccines have unfortunate side effects and not enough primary affects (Gardasil, I'm looking at you), I just don't think it's a good idea in the general case.
That said, there are cases where it's warranted. There is, after all, a reason that we don't meet people with polio anymore.
In addition, doesn't this unquestioned "religious" waiver idea stand as an insult to the religious? I'm not out to bash anybody's beliefs, but to use one's religion, real or imagined, as a legal defense seems like a slap in the face to people who do actually adhere to those beliefs that reject medical practice.
(And what happens when the kid "escapes" vaccination, but later has an injury at school? The school has documentation that your child may not be treated, so...let him live with the pain? Or is there some religion that I've never heard of that only rejects vaccinations?)
Something I would much rather see coverage of than this sort of fear-mongering are the ramifications of the very real Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 (H.R. 875) submitted to Congress. Are our Representatives standing against the requirement that anybody growing food (no exceptions) register with the government and use only mandated pesticides and fertilizers? Are there any benefits to the bill that aren't already supposed to be present? Can local growers handle the added burdens?
Posted by: John | March 16, 2009 at 12:12 PM
Mary -
The next time your good friend Dick Gottfried is up for re-election, I'll remember to vote no on his candidacy.
A real bone-headed political move, Dick. You'll soon see how this now effectively ends your political career.
Posted by: Mary Slater ... registered school nurse | March 16, 2009 at 12:11 PM
Sorry...but again you are wrong.
Numerous studies have found no link between vaccines and (your example) autism. Most of the furor is based on a mercury-based preservative ONCE USED in vaccines that some believe contributes to neurological disorders.
By having parents lie, using bogus religious beliefs, to school officials and school attorneys to avoid vaccines (great example to teach your kids, by the way, Mary)unvaccinated children can spread diseases to others who have not gotten their shots or those for whom vaccinations provided less-than-complete protection.
Yes...we know it's partially about the money too. Since schools get money for every vaccinated child it promotes having children vaccinated. However, being dishonest and disingenuous about your beliefs is the wrong message to send and the wrong example for your children to emulate.
Posted by: Dr Steven Silverman | March 16, 2009 at 05:55 AM