As the vaccine debate rages on, find out why I believe that the vaccine debate isn’t really about vaccines at all. What is it about?
As the vaccine debate rages on in our country, I’ve been surprised to see the stance many of my friends have taken in the debate. I’m mostly surprised that so many people can’t see that it’s not about the vaccines.
How can the vaccine debate not be about vaccines?
Thanks for asking, I’d love to tell you! And before you decide you’d like to post terrible comments about my kids or me, please know that I read every single comment. Your comments are to a real life person, so at the very least have the decency to read this entire post before you decide to spew your vitriol.
Okay, so now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about how it’s not about the vaccines.
I have friends on both sides of the vaccine debate. I have friends who have never given their child a single vaccination, and friends who have given their child every vaccination on the schedule. But I would bet that most of us are somewhere in between those extremes, and I’m not here to debate the vaccine issue.
While it’s really none of anyone’s business, my kids have their vaccinations except for varicella.
Here’s the interesting thing about all of the people who are pushing mandated vaccines: skipping just one vaccine would not be allowed (in fact, if you’ve seen the “hot spot” vaccine reports, these children, who’ve missed just one vaccine, are considered among the “unvaccinated”).
So if you don’t want your child to get the HPV vaccine, that wouldn’t be allowed. If you wanted to space out the vaccines, or do them on a different schedule than the CDC recommends, that wouldn’t be allowed.
If you don’t choose to get the flu shot every year, that wouldn’t be allowed. If the CDC added 20 more vaccines to the schedule next year, and you wanted to wait a couple of years to make sure that these new vaccines didn’t have major side effects, that wouldn’t be allowed.
I’m sure this still sounds like it’s about the vaccines, but it’s definitely not.
So what’s it about then?
It’s about losing parental rights. It’s about a government that is allowed to make healthcare choices for us. And though it might start with vaccines, where will it go from there?
Will you be okay with your government telling you which medical procedures your child must or cannot have?
Will you be okay with your government deciding that your child’s life is no longer worth saving, and therefore they won’t authorize life saving measures? We’ve seen that happen in the UK with several children, such as Alfie Evans and Charlie Gard, who weren’t even allowed to be removed from the country to seek medical care that the parents desired and had raised the money for. Would you be okay with this if it were your child?
Will you be okay with your government telling you that you can’t send your child to a private school, a charter school, or homeschool them?
Will you be okay with your government telling you what religion you’re allowed to teach your child?
Will you be okay with your government having the right to take away your children for any reason at all?
Once we give up the right as parents to choose what is best for our children in one area, the ramifications are tremendous. And that’s why regardless of which side of the issue you stand on, I want you to consider if you didn’t have the choice to pick a side. Because that’s what this will come down to if we don’t make our voices heard for parental rights.
If you’re pro-vaccine, by all means vaccinate your children! But don’t tell someone else that they don’t deserve the right to make that choice for their children.
If you’re anti-vaccine, by all means abstain from vaccines for your children! But don’t tell someone else that they aren’t allowed the right to vaccinate their children.
It’s really that simple.
It’s not about the vaccines, it’s about giving up our parental rights a little at a time, until eventually we will have none. So set aside your fear, your passion, your strong feelings and consider that it’s not about the vaccines. Or better yet, don’t set them aside, but use them to empower other parents with the knowledge that you have, so that they can make the best choices for their children, instead of giving over those rights to government officials who may not even have any medical training!
Click here to read what the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons says about forced vaccinations.
Find out 4 Reasons We Don’t Homeschool
I respectfully disagree that it is quite that simple. When a Christian Scientist allows one of their children to die from a treatable illness like appendicitis or diabetes, it’s a tragedy (and in my opinion, child abuse), but it affects only that one child and family. When enough people completely forego vaccines, herd immunity protection is gone for the infants too young to get vaccines and for the children who can’t get vaccines due to immune system problems. When someone makes a choice not to vaccinate, it could very well adversely affect someone else’s child, and that’s a problem.
Not to sound callous but why do you care if their child dies? Dying is a mercy. Yes my child received treatment for his appendicitis as that was our decision but why do you care if someone else decides differently? If you had faith knowing that your child was in heaven, where there is no suffering, no pain and no illness, would you subject your child to treatment that is painful and impacts their quaiity of life? I’m sorry but forcing a child to take treatment to prolong their life no matter how it affects them is not for their benefit. I LOVE my children and I would not want them to suffer at all. I would rather that they were free from pain and suffering because I know that I will see them when I die.