[NVIC] New Yorker's Stand Up for Vaccine Exemptions

December 20, 2008

[]

#1

....

Photo courtesy Zichittella-Heeren

New Yorker's Stand Up for Vaccine Exemptions

by Barbara Loe Fisher

In the harbor of New York City stands the Statue of Liberty, a symbol

of freedom that has welcomed millions of immigrants for 112 years,

half of the time that the United States of America has been a nation.

And on the base of the statue is an inscription that says in part

" .....Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to

breathe free.... "

I remembered that phrase when we were driving from Washington, D.C.

to New York City and our van got caught up in the Sunday afternoon

Manhattan traffic that led us past the Empire State Building on our

way to Long Island. Freedom was very much on my mind as we headed for

Stony Brook University to participate in the December 15 Vaccine

Education Roundtable sponsored by New York state Assemblymen Marc

Alessi (D-1st Assembly District) and Gottfried (D-75th

Assembly District), who is Chair of the House Health Committee.

Americans have always cherished the freedom to breathe free; to

speak, write and dissent without fear of retribution; to believe in

God and worship freely without being persecuted; to vote for whom we

want to represent us in government and know our vote counts; to

follow our conscience and stand up for what is right. Although

America is only 222 years old, which is very young compared to other

countries that have existed for several thousands of years, during

our short history there is no other nation that has defined and

defended the freedom of citizens to live in a society based on the

principle of equal rights and consent of the governed any better than

the United States of America.

These are troubled times for parents in New York and New Jersey and

other states. Every day parents are facing more hostility from

pediatricians throwing them out of doctor's offices for questioning

vaccine safety and are being harassed by government officials

determined to force their children to get dozens of doses of state

mandated vaccines without voluntary, informed consent. New York

currently mandates more than two dozen doses of 11 vaccines for

school attendance while New Jersey leads the nation with nearly three

dozen doses of 13 vaccines, including annual influenza shots.

Religious exemptions are being pulled by state officials after they

throw parents into rooms and grill them for hours about the sincerity

of their religious beliefs. Last year in land, state officials

threatened several thousand parents with jail time and stiff fines

for failing to show proof their children had gotten hepatitis B and

chickenpox vaccinations.

It is in this climate of fear and crisis of trust between parents,

who want a more equal role in making vaccination decisions for their

children, and pediatricians and public health officials, who are

determined to strengthen their power to tell parents what to do, that

Assemblymen Alessi assembled a panel representing both sides to

discuss whether or not a philosophical exemption to vaccination

should be added to New York's vaccine laws. Currently New York only

provides for a medical and religious exemption, even as 18 other

states allow a personal, philosophical or conscientious belief

exemption to vaccination.

After the Roundtable, Assemblyman Gottfried expressed strong support

for First Amendment rights and told the audience of parents, doctors

and legislative staff that he is sponsoring two bills to clarify

rights defined under existing religious and medical exemptions so

they cannot be violated by state officials. After the Roundtable

concluded, he said " Important issues were raised. I look forward to

seeing additional data from all sides, especially about the impact of

the personal objection laws in other states. I will be reintroducing

my bills to strengthen the religious and medical exemptions in the

2009 session. I urge parents to contact their local assembly members

and state senators to urge them to co-sponsor. "

Assemblyman Alessi commented that " The discussion framed the fact

that there is still a large debate on the issue. And although some

people in the medical community are adamant that this debate is over,

it has only just begun. The amount of conflicting evidence parents

are presented with regarding the effects of certain vaccines is

staggering. This forum opened the lines of communication between

experts in the debate and provided concerned parents with the most

recent information on the safety of vaccines. As a parent, I know how

difficult it is to make the right decisions regarding our children's

health, but if we are to make good decisions, we need to be well

informed and continue to have discussions like this roundtable. "

At the beginning of the Roundtable, I framed the vaccine safety and

informed consent debate and outlined how the informed consent

principle relates to philosophical/conscientious belief exemption. I

reviewed the general health ranking of New York (25th) compared to

the 18 states which have philosophical exemptions (six of the top 10

ranked states have philosophical exemption) and noted that the U.S.

uses more vaccines than any nation in the world but ranks 39th in

infant mortality. Click

<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001dnwJjVVfQ9zgfHY8e_jjZofGWepEiSN_G7EtorLcNhUlr8RUrxTD\

h3oEWDsDwFRTs-f_cWretCNKqQQPRGkno8Yqmv72XSssSfJQGddJBxJ6U90CYj13VDfp_smhjhIn-cZW\

m-PHNibxxYSaoJe72knkrwwz2DEvlRIDB_Sg3SI=>here

to read my entire presentation with live links to references (see text below).

Other panelists supporting philosophical exemption to vaccination

included New York pediatrician Lawrence Palevsky, M.D. , who called

for an authentic dialogue that " moves past what appears to a growing

number of citizens to be a one-sided, paternalistic, and patronizing

set of policies and language with an unwillingness to engage in a

real discussion about the science of vaccines. " He challenged many of

the myths and misconceptions about the safety and effectiveness of

vaccine policies.

New York's Gilmore, executive director of Autism United, who has

a vaccine injured son with autism and said " without trust, the

proponents of forced vaccination have nothing but authority and

authority is an unacceptable basis for any public policy in a

democratic society. " He pointed out operational flaws and conflicts

of interest in vaccine safety regulation and policymaking. Louise Kuo

Habakus, of the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice, who has

two young sons recovering from vaccine injuries, presented slides

summarizing vaccine risks and questioning whether vaccines can be

credited with major infectious disease morbidity and mortality

decreases in the 20th century. She recounted her impression of the

day's events at

<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001dnwJjVVfQ9xgx6_wRS7lh7TxSNcnzFHoSfo95V0kXFymTUZKnjs1\

TyjGbPXMaUUXMTlHGI8iAIngFUdV1IY9Lz7XY2O9_pcyfsX4AorMari4L_g1RaDeiA==>www.ageofau\

tism.com.

(In related events, New Jersey parents held several open houses this

week to educate New Jersey legislators about the need to support

pending

<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001dnwJjVVfQ9zyHjm2CTBFhjWxhEg4nfz3Oee409X3LxTibbPYkbvp\

aPFuUG7K5NrV0Y-CpE-nRYdhOxSZ03sxxQcQHSn1OMorgJqpLTp-SdBhl9J5rsbY7gAydNX4CBBoe7M2\

qfsXIu8h-o2B7yJDdDwzLaCcPmbwMrqRoy6gQIMxtUjeGFxscTfp6M7MJk9yB6LKj3-qLwt0Hra2rtFO\

P8-cD6mQwDQN>conscientious

belief exemption legislation in that state.)

Panelists defending current vaccine policies and opposing

philosophical exemptions included New York pediatricians Lee,

M.D. , who agreed vaccine safety should be a high priority but

disagreed that the amount of mercury and aluminum in vaccines posed a

health risk; and longtime vaccine policymaker and American Academy of

Pediatrics spokesperson Louis Z. , M.D. , who agreed trust

between pediatricians and parents needs to be strengthened but

defended the safety of existing vaccine policies; and Debra Blog,

M.D. , medical director of the Immunization Program, New York State

Department of Health, who showed slides of children with infectious

diseases and strongly opposed adding philosophical exemption to New

York state vaccine laws.

Following panelist presentations there was a spirited debate that

lasted for more than two hours as panelists argued and defended their

positions. NVIC's videographer, Fisher, will be making a video

of the day's events available on NVIC's website.

By the end of the day, I thought about how long parents of vaccine

injured children have been asking pediatricians to become partners

with them in preventing vaccine injuries and deaths. After nearly

three decades, parents and doctors inside and outside of government

could not be further apart. The failure of pediatricians and public

health officials to take seriously the many cases of regression into

poor health after vaccination has become the Number One public health

problem in the U.S. today.

There will be no resolution until every state has embraced the

informed consent ethic and adopted conscientious or philosophical

exemption to vaccination in state vaccine laws. At that point,

Americans will be free to vote with their feet and the vaccines the

public considers to be necessary, safe and effective will be used and

those they do not consider to be necessary, safe and effective will

be driven off the market. And then, a real time comparison of the

long term health of highly vaccinated, less vaccinated and

unvaccinated citizens will tell us a lot about the safety and

effectiveness of vaccine policies in the last half of the 20th and

first half of the 21st centuries.

#2

....

Left to right: Barbara Loe Fisher; Gilmore; Lawrence Palevsky,

M.D. at Dec. 15, 2008 NY Vaccine Education Roundtable. (Photo

courtesy Zichittella-Heeren)

#3

....

Left to right: Lee, M.D., Louis , M.D., Marc Alessi,

Gottfried, Debra Blog, M.D., Louise Kuo Habakus at Dec. 15, 2008 NY

Vaccine Education Roundtable (Photo courtesy Zichittella-Heeren)

Statement of Barbara Loe Fisher

Co-founder & President, National Vaccine Information Center

December 15, 2008 at New York Stony Brook University

Vaccine Education Roundtable

Assemblyman Alessi and NY State Legislators:

Thank you for holding this Vaccine Education Roundtable to discuss

issues which impact on Assembly Bill 5468 to insert philosophical

exemption in New York vaccine laws. I appreciate the invitation to be

part of this panel on behalf of New York members of the National

Vaccine Information Center, non-profit organization founded in 1982

to prevent vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and

defend the informed consent ethic.

Vaccination is a medical intervention performed on a healthy person

which carries an inherent risk of injury or death. The risk of harm

can be greater for some than others and there is no guarantee that

vaccination will, in fact, confer immunity. With very few predictors

having been identified by medical science to give advance warning

that harm or failure to confer immunity will occur, vaccination is a

medical procedure that could reasonably be termed as experimental

each time it is performed on a healthy individual.

Further, the FDA, CDC and vaccine makers openly state that often the

numbers of human subjects used in pre-licensing studies are too small

to detect all adverse events caused by a new vaccine. This makes

government recommended use of newly licensed vaccines by millions of

children a de facto uncontrolled national scientific experiment. In

this regard, the ethical principle of informed consent to vaccination

attains even greater significance.

Informed consent means that a patient or guardian has the right to be

fully informed about the benefits and risks of a medical procedure

and be allowed to make an informed, voluntary decision about whether

or not to take the risk. Informed consent is an important check and

balance for the relationship between physicians and patients that

encourages physicians to obey the Hippocratic oath to " first, do no harm. "

The affirmation of the informed consent ethic in the practice of

modern medicine is rooted in a rejection of the traditional

paternalistic medical model, which places the patient or guardian in

an unequal, powerless position with a physician and facilitates

uninformed, involuntary risk taking. The human right for individuals

to exercise informed consent to participating in scientific

experiments was officially acknowledged by the judges of the

Nuremberg Tribunal after World War II. Their ringing endorsement of

individual inviolability and the right to self determination when

taking medical risks has became an internationally accepted moral

guidepost for the ethical practice of modern medicine. The first

principle of the Nuremberg Code begins with:

" The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential.

This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to

give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free

power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force,

fraud, deceit, duress, overreaching or other ulterior form of

constraint or coercion; and should have sufficient knowledge and

comprehension of the elements of the subject matter involved as to

enable him to make an understanding and enlightened decision. "

In America, the closest we come to upholding the informed consent

principle with regard to vaccination is in the 18 states which allow

personal, philosophical or conscientious belief exemption to

vaccination. In the 2008 edition of America's Health Rankings,

Vermont is ranked the number one healthiest state. Vermont allows

philosophical exemption to vaccination. In fact, out of the top ten

ranked healthiest states, six of them allow philosophical exemption

(Vermont, Minnesota, Utah, Idaho, Maine, Washington).

New York ranks 25th in health behind the nation's most populous

state, California. The state of California has twice as many

residents as New York, as well as more foreign born residents and

those who speak English as a second language. However, in almost all

other demographics, California is nearly identical to New York in

ethnic diversity; numbers of children under age 18; median household

income and persons living below poverty.

California allows philosophical exemption to vaccination.

What is interesting is that in the top 10 healthiest states, four had

among the lowest vaccination rates for children ages 19 to 35 months:

Utah (37th) , Idaho (45th), Maine (40th) and Washington (48th).

California which is ahead of New York in overall health ranking, is

31st in vaccination coverage of 19 to 35 month olds while New York is

number 9. The healthiest state, Vermont, is 29th in vaccination coverage.

In fact, health is not primarily measured by high vaccination rates

or an absence of infectious disease. High vaccination rates are not

the most important measure of the overall health of citizens. The 18

states allowing philosophical exemption to vaccination have not

compromised individual or public health when compared to other states.

This past September, the CDC announced that national childhood

vaccination rates are at near record levels, with at least 90 percent

of young children receiving all but one CDC recommended vaccine. Less

than 1 percent of children aged 19 to 35 months remain completely

unvaccinated.

Today, the U.S. government recommends the use of more vaccines than

any other country in the world: 69 doses of 16 vaccines for girls; 66

doses of 15 vaccines for boys given between the day of birth and age

18. That is triple the numbers of vaccinations recommended by public

health officials and physician organizations a quarter century ago,

when 23 doses of seven vaccines (DPT, MMR, OPV) were routinely given.

But in comparison to other nations, the overall health of Americans

has not improved since 2004 and there are 27 countries that exceed

the US in healthy life expectancy while the U.S. ranks 39th in infant

mortality.

Today, 1 in every 143 babies born in America dies; 1 child in 450

becomes diabetic; 1 in 150 develops autism;1 in 9 suffers with

asthma; and 1 in every 6 child is learning disabled.

The chronic disease and disability epidemic that has developed in the

last quarter century is killing and injuring more children than any

infectious disease epidemic in the history of our nation, including

smallpox and polio. The social, economic, and human costs are

enormous: nearly two billion dollars has been paid to vaccine victims

by the federal government in the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

while three-quarters of the more than $2 trillion dollar annual price

tag for health care is spent to care for the chronically ill and disabled.

The big question vaccine educated parents are asking is: why are so

many of the most highly vaccinated children in the world so sick,

suffering with all kinds of chronic brain and immune system

dysfunction? Why are babies born in the richest country in the world

dying more often than babies born in poorer countries, who do not get

vaccinated at all or who get far fewer vaccines?

It is a question that has not been answered by any scientific study

conducted to date because there has never been a large, prospective

study comparing the long term health of highly vaccinated children to

unvaccinated children. In the absence of definitive answers, the

right to freely exercise medical, religious and philosophical

exemption to vaccination is a human right that may well determine the

biological integrity of this and future generations in America.

Because vaccines are pharmaceutical products that carry significant

risks greater for some than others; because doctors and public health

officials are not infallible; because what is considered scientific

truth today can be proven false tomorrow; because philosophical

exemption to vaccination does not negatively impact on the health of

individuals or states; and because informed consent to medical risk

taking is a human right, the National Vaccine Information Center

urges legislators to affirm the freedom of all New Yorkers to make

informed, voluntary vaccination decisions for themselves and their

children by supporting philosophical exemption to vaccination.

National Vaccine Information Center

NVIC E-News is a free service of the non-profit National Vaccine

Information Center and is supported through

<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001dnwJjVVfQ9xhmF03JAc3qfSrE9NNLNp4Ba5Srh_ukPvy2UpGA_eI\

F_zIAR8MDdPgmauCt3TzTBK0UTUumrbMTIHBVXxbGe4WqudDxF7NamM4ljxDEk0zxNdL9OPksIGS9ovp\

g64ubd-4PsBIrxYqDtl036ZWUYph>donations.

NVIC is funded through the financial support of its members and does

not receive any government subsidies. Barbara Loe Fisher, President

and Co- founder.

Learn more about vaccines, diseases and how to protect your informed

consent rights

<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001dnwJjVVfQ9y07R3_QW1AY15zzwmR_UteDV6uoHM1C2NuXv-3porq\

Li1BLG4A-wQrcgJLNv0znBNjEfnD6rsR1x5VWVbT1zehKmAFKwHV04Y=>www.nvic.org

[]

<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001dnwJjVVfQ9waHxGU2_tevLFTbx1Tq3PdDo7a_8j-wCG52Hj2Yt3c\

3Saq9MGjnUkqGMXfo1qP7ZKNvLVH9L44706N7EKgyErn6SS7u9AgLg4qGURPRDfE0geo_Jurpiua>

email: <mailto:news@...>news@...

phone: 703-938-dpt3

web:

<http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001dnwJjVVfQ9y07R3_QW1AY15zzwmR_UteDV6uoHM1C2NuXv-3porq\

Li1BLG4A-wQrcgJLNv0znBNjEfnD6rsR1x5VWVbT1zeha2OJ0k3qhUg=>http://www.nvic.org

National Vaccine Information Center | 204 Mill St. | Suite B1 |

Vienna | VA | 22180

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

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

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

Vaccines - http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccine.htm Vaccine Dangers &

Childhood Disease & Homeopathy Email classes start in December 2008

December 21, 2008

I live in NY an the amount of gov.t medical control is stifling. 1. We

are the only state that law requires Vit,. K eye drops and Hep B shot

at birth. The Hep B. is not necessary until adolescence and shots

given at birth will be ineffective by time child reaches adolescence.

2. By law we are 1 of the few states that cannot have mail order DNA

analysis. 3. Naturopaths cannot be licensed even though they have the

same education as Dr.s from an accredited school. 4. There are no

philosophical vaccine exemptions. 5. The whole state seems to be very

anti-natural and holistic treatment. When I was pregnant there is

only one facility for natural water-birth.

I'm sure many of these laws are not constitutional because they limit

our freedom to choose. For all this, we pay some of the highest

medical premiums and fees because NY has not reformed malpractice

laws. Therefore, due to the exorbitant malpractice premiums many

highly regarded Dr.s have had to close their practice. For all these

reasons as soon as the opportunity comes to move out of NY, I will be

gone.

Both of my children are fully vaccinated as I relied on information

for the pedi and they of course are pro-vaccine. Probably 80% of

their practice consists of vaccinations given during well visits. I

don't want my youngest (2 1/2) to receive any more vaccines now that I

know what is in them, where is the exemption form for that?

I believe that many of the illnesses that children and adults suffer

from are due to toxic overload, as our air, water, oceans and soil

have all been polluted. Food is of poor nutritional quality also

containing toxins, added sugars, MSG, pesticides and antibiotics. It

seems that whenever scientists try to explain this, some gov't

official quickly shuts them up. Efforts to clean up the environment

and the food supply will probably much cheaper and better than the

" sick " system we have now.

> #1

>> Photo courtesy Zichittella-Heeren

> New Yorker's Stand Up for Vaccine Exemptions

> by Barbara Loe Fisher

> In the harbor of New York City stands the Statue of Liberty, a

symbol

> of freedom that has welcomed millions of immigrants for 112 years,

> half of the time that the United States of America has been a

nation.

> And on the base of the statue is an inscription that says in part

> " .....Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to

> breathe free.... "

>

> I remembered that phrase when we were driving from Washington, D.C.

> to New York City and our van got caught up in the Sunday afternoon

> Manhattan traffic that led us past the Empire State Building on our

> way to Long Island. Freedom was very much on my mind as we headed

for

> Stony Brook University to participate in the December 15 Vaccine

> Education Roundtable sponsored by New York state Assemblymen Marc

> Alessi (D-1st Assembly District) and Gottfried (D-75th

> Assembly District), who is Chair of the House Health Committee.

>

> Americans have always cherished the freedom to breathe free; to

> speak, write and dissent without fear of retribution; to believe in

> God and worship freely without being persecuted; to vote for whom we

> want to represent us in government and know our vote counts; to

> follow our conscience and stand up for what is right. Although

> America is only 222 years old, which is very young compared to other

> countries that have existed for several thousands of years, during

> our short history there is no other nation that has defined and

> defended the freedom of citizens to live in a society based on the

> principle of equal rights and consent of the governed any better

than

> the United States of America.

>

> These are troubled times for parents in New York and New Jersey and

> other states. Every day parents are facing more hostility from

> pediatricians throwing them out of doctor's offices for questioning

> vaccine safety and are being harassed by government officials

> determined to force their children to get dozens of doses of state

> mandated vaccines without voluntary, informed consent. New York

> currently mandates more than two dozen doses of 11 vaccines for

> school attendance while New Jersey leads the nation with nearly

three

> dozen doses of 13 vaccines, including annual influenza shots.

>

> Religious exemptions are being pulled by state officials after they

> throw parents into rooms and grill them for hours about the

sincerity

> of their religious beliefs. Last year in land, state officials

> threatened several thousand parents with jail time and stiff fines

> for failing to show proof their children had gotten hepatitis B and

> chickenpox vaccinations.

>

> It is in this climate of fear and crisis of trust between parents,

> who want a more equal role in making vaccination decisions for their

> children, and pediatricians and public health officials, who are

> determined to strengthen their power to tell parents what to do,

that

> Assemblymen Alessi assembled a panel representing both sides to

> discuss whether or not a philosophical exemption to vaccination

> should be added to New York's vaccine laws. Currently New York only

> provides for a medical and religious exemption, even as 18 other

> states allow a personal, philosophical or conscientious belief

> exemption to vaccination.

>

> After the Roundtable, Assemblyman Gottfried expressed strong support

> for First Amendment rights and told the audience of parents, doctors

> and legislative staff that he is sponsoring two bills to clarify

> rights defined under existing religious and medical exemptions so

> they cannot be violated by state officials. After the Roundtable

> concluded, he said " Important issues were raised. I look forward to

> seeing additional data from all sides, especially about the impact

of

> the personal objection laws in other states. I will be reintroducing

> my bills to strengthen the religious and medical exemptions in the

> 2009 session. I urge parents to contact their local assembly members

> and state senators to urge them to co-sponsor. "

>

> Assemblyman Alessi commented that " The discussion framed the fact

> that there is still a large debate on the issue. And although some

> people in the medical community are adamant that this debate is

over,

> it has only just begun. The amount of conflicting evidence parents

> are presented with regarding the effects of certain vaccines is

> staggering. This forum opened the lines of communication between

> experts in the debate and provided concerned parents with the most

> recent information on the safety of vaccines. As a parent, I know

how

> difficult it is to make the right decisions regarding our children's

> health, but if we are to make good decisions, we need to be well

> informed and continue to have discussions like this roundtable. "

>

> At the beginning of the Roundtable, I framed the vaccine safety and

> informed consent debate and outlined how the informed consent

> principle relates to philosophical/conscientious belief exemption. I

> reviewed the general health ranking of New York (25th) compared to

> the 18 states which have philosophical exemptions (six of the top 10

> ranked states have philosophical exemption) and noted that the U.S.

> uses more vaccines than any nation in the world but ranks 39th in

> infant mortality. Click

> <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?

e=001dnwJjVVfQ9zgfHY8e_jjZofGWepEiSN_G7EtorLcNhUlr8RUrxTDh3oEWDsDwFRTs

-f_cWretCNKqQQPRGkno8Yqmv72XSssSfJQGddJBxJ6U90CYj13VDfp_smhjhIn-cZWm-

PHNibxxYSaoJe72knkrwwz2DEvlRIDB_Sg3SI=>here

> to read my entire presentation with live links to references (see

text below).

>

> Other panelists supporting philosophical exemption to vaccination

> included New York pediatrician Lawrence Palevsky, M.D. , who called

> for an authentic dialogue that " moves past what appears to a growing

> number of citizens to be a one-sided, paternalistic, and patronizing

> set of policies and language with an unwillingness to engage in a

> real discussion about the science of vaccines. " He challenged many

of

> the myths and misconceptions about the safety and effectiveness of

> vaccine policies.

>

> New York's Gilmore, executive director of Autism United, who

has

> a vaccine injured son with autism and said " without trust, the

> proponents of forced vaccination have nothing but authority and

> authority is an unacceptable basis for any public policy in a

> democratic society. " He pointed out operational flaws and conflicts

> of interest in vaccine safety regulation and policymaking. Louise

Kuo

> Habakus, of the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice, who has

> two young sons recovering from vaccine injuries, presented slides

> summarizing vaccine risks and questioning whether vaccines can be

> credited with major infectious disease morbidity and mortality

> decreases in the 20th century. She recounted her impression of the

> day's events at

> <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?

e=001dnwJjVVfQ9xgx6_wRS7lh7TxSNcnzFHoSfo95V0kXFymTUZKnjs1TyjGbPXMaUUXM

TlHGI8iAIngFUdV1IY9Lz7XY2O9_pcyfsX4AorMari4L_g1RaDeiA==>www.ageofautis

m.com.

> (In related events, New Jersey parents held several open houses this

> week to educate New Jersey legislators about the need to support

> pending

> <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?

e=001dnwJjVVfQ9zyHjm2CTBFhjWxhEg4nfz3Oee409X3LxTibbPYkbvpaPFuUG7K5NrV0

Y-CpE-nRYdhOxSZ03sxxQcQHSn1OMorgJqpLTp-

SdBhl9J5rsbY7gAydNX4CBBoe7M2qfsXIu8h-

o2B7yJDdDwzLaCcPmbwMrqRoy6gQIMxtUjeGFxscTfp6M7MJk9yB6LKj3-

qLwt0Hra2rtFOP8-cD6mQwDQN>conscientious

> belief exemption legislation in that state.)

>

> Panelists defending current vaccine policies and opposing

> philosophical exemptions included New York pediatricians Lee,

> M.D. , who agreed vaccine safety should be a high priority but

> disagreed that the amount of mercury and aluminum in vaccines posed

a

> health risk; and longtime vaccine policymaker and American Academy

of

> Pediatrics spokesperson Louis Z. , M.D. , who agreed trust

> between pediatricians and parents needs to be strengthened but

> defended the safety of existing vaccine policies; and Debra Blog,

> M.D. , medical director of the Immunization Program, New York State

> Department of Health, who showed slides of children with infectious

> diseases and strongly opposed adding philosophical exemption to New

> York state vaccine laws.

>

> Following panelist presentations there was a spirited debate that

> lasted for more than two hours as panelists argued and defended

their

> positions. NVIC's videographer, Fisher, will be making a video

> of the day's events available on NVIC's website.

>

> By the end of the day, I thought about how long parents of vaccine

> injured children have been asking pediatricians to become partners

> with them in preventing vaccine injuries and deaths. After nearly

> three decades, parents and doctors inside and outside of government

> could not be further apart. The failure of pediatricians and public

> health officials to take seriously the many cases of regression into

> poor health after vaccination has become the Number One public

health

> problem in the U.S. today.

>

> There will be no resolution until every state has embraced the

> informed consent ethic and adopted conscientious or philosophical

> exemption to vaccination in state vaccine laws. At that point,

> Americans will be free to vote with their feet and the vaccines the

> public considers to be necessary, safe and effective will be used

and

> those they do not consider to be necessary, safe and effective will

> be driven off the market. And then, a real time comparison of the

> long term health of highly vaccinated, less vaccinated and

> unvaccinated citizens will tell us a lot about the safety and

> effectiveness of vaccine policies in the last half of the 20th and

> first half of the 21st centuries.

>

> #2

>

> Left to right: Barbara Loe Fisher; Gilmore; Lawrence Palevsky,

> M.D. at Dec. 15, 2008 NY Vaccine Education Roundtable. (Photo

> courtesy Zichittella-Heeren)

>

> #3

> ...

>

> Left to right: Lee, M.D., Louis , M.D., Marc Alessi,

> Gottfried, Debra Blog, M.D., Louise Kuo Habakus at Dec. 15, 2008 NY

> Vaccine Education Roundtable (Photo courtesy Zichittella-

Heeren)

>

> Statement of Barbara Loe Fisher

> Co-founder & President, National Vaccine Information Center

> December 15, 2008 at New York Stony Brook University

> Vaccine Education Roundtable

>

> Assemblyman Alessi and NY State Legislators:

>

> Thank you for holding this Vaccine Education Roundtable to discuss

> issues which impact on Assembly Bill 5468 to insert philosophical

> exemption in New York vaccine laws. I appreciate the invitation to

be

> part of this panel on behalf of New York members of the National

> Vaccine Information Center, non-profit organization founded in 1982

> to prevent vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and

> defend the informed consent ethic.

>

> Vaccination is a medical intervention performed on a healthy person

> which carries an inherent risk of injury or death. The risk of harm

> can be greater for some than others and there is no guarantee that

> vaccination will, in fact, confer immunity. With very few predictors

> having been identified by medical science to give advance warning

> that harm or failure to confer immunity will occur, vaccination is a

> medical procedure that could reasonably be termed as experimental

> each time it is performed on a healthy individual.

>

> Further, the FDA, CDC and vaccine makers openly state that often the

> numbers of human subjects used in pre-licensing studies are too

small

> to detect all adverse events caused by a new vaccine. This makes

> government recommended use of newly licensed vaccines by millions of

> children a de facto uncontrolled national scientific experiment. In

> this regard, the ethical principle of informed consent to

vaccination

> attains even greater significance.

>

> Informed consent means that a patient or guardian has the right to

be

> fully informed about the benefits and risks of a medical procedure

> and be allowed to make an informed, voluntary decision about whether

> or not to take the risk. Informed consent is an important check and

> balance for the relationship between physicians and patients that

> encourages physicians to obey the Hippocratic oath to " first, do no

harm. "

>

> The affirmation of the informed consent ethic in the practice of

> modern medicine is rooted in a rejection of the traditional

> paternalistic medical model, which places the patient or guardian in

> an unequal, powerless position with a physician and facilitates

> uninformed, involuntary risk taking. The human right for individuals

> to exercise informed consent to participating in scientific

> experiments was officially acknowledged by the judges of the

> Nuremberg Tribunal after World War II. Their ringing endorsement of

> individual inviolability and the right to self determination when

> taking medical risks has became an internationally accepted moral

> guidepost for the ethical practice of modern medicine. The first

> principle of the Nuremberg Code begins with:

>

> " The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential.

> This means that the person involved should have legal capacity to

> give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise free

> power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force,

> fraud, deceit, duress, overreaching or other ulterior form of

> constraint or coercion; and should have sufficient knowledge and

> comprehension of the elements of the subject matter involved as to

> enable him to make an understanding and enlightened decision. "

>

> In America, the closest we come to upholding the informed consent

> principle with regard to vaccination is in the 18 states which allow

> personal, philosophical or conscientious belief exemption to

> vaccination. In the 2008 edition of America's Health Rankings,

> Vermont is ranked the number one healthiest state. Vermont allows

> philosophical exemption to vaccination. In fact, out of the top ten

> ranked healthiest states, six of them allow philosophical exemption

> (Vermont, Minnesota, Utah, Idaho, Maine, Washington).

>

> New York ranks 25th in health behind the nation's most populous

> state, California. The state of California has twice as many

> residents as New York, as well as more foreign born residents and

> those who speak English as a second language. However, in almost all

> other demographics, California is nearly identical to New York in

> ethnic diversity; numbers of children under age 18; median household

> income and persons living below poverty.

>

> California allows philosophical exemption to vaccination.

>

> What is interesting is that in the top 10 healthiest states, four

had

> among the lowest vaccination rates for children ages 19 to 35

months:

> Utah (37th) , Idaho (45th), Maine (40th) and Washington (48th).

> California which is ahead of New York in overall health ranking, is

> 31st in vaccination coverage of 19 to 35 month olds while New York

is

> number 9. The healthiest state, Vermont, is 29th in vaccination

coverage.

>

> In fact, health is not primarily measured by high vaccination rates

> or an absence of infectious disease. High vaccination rates are not

> the most important measure of the overall health of citizens. The 18

> states allowing philosophical exemption to vaccination have not

> compromised individual or public health when compared to other

states.

>

> This past September, the CDC announced that national childhood

> vaccination rates are at near record levels, with at least 90

percent

> of young children receiving all but one CDC recommended vaccine.

Less

> than 1 percent of children aged 19 to 35 months remain completely

> unvaccinated.

>

> Today, the U.S. government recommends the use of more vaccines than

> any other country in the world: 69 doses of 16 vaccines for girls;

66

> doses of 15 vaccines for boys given between the day of birth and age

> 18. That is triple the numbers of vaccinations recommended by public

> health officials and physician organizations a quarter century ago,

> when 23 doses of seven vaccines (DPT, MMR, OPV) were routinely

given.

>

> But in comparison to other nations, the overall health of Americans

> has not improved since 2004 and there are 27 countries that exceed

> the US in healthy life expectancy while the U.S. ranks 39th in

infant

> mortality.

>

> Today, 1 in every 143 babies born in America dies; 1 child in 450

> becomes diabetic; 1 in 150 develops autism;1 in 9 suffers with

> asthma; and 1 in every 6 child is learning disabled.

>

> The chronic disease and disability epidemic that has developed in

the

> last quarter century is killing and injuring more children than any

> infectious disease epidemic in the history of our nation, including

> smallpox and polio. The social, economic, and human costs are

> enormous: nearly two billion dollars has been paid to vaccine

victims

> by the federal government in the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

> while three-quarters of the more than $2 trillion dollar annual

price

> tag for health care is spent to care for the chronically ill and

disabled.

>

> The big question vaccine educated parents are asking is: why are so

> many of the most highly vaccinated children in the world so sick,

> suffering with all kinds of chronic brain and immune system

> dysfunction? Why are babies born in the richest country in the world

> dying more often than babies born in poorer countries, who do not

get

> vaccinated at all or who get far fewer vaccines?

>

> It is a question that has not been answered by any scientific study

> conducted to date because there has never been a large, prospective

> study comparing the long term health of highly vaccinated children

to

> unvaccinated children. In the absence of definitive answers, the

> right to freely exercise medical, religious and philosophical

> exemption to vaccination is a human right that may well determine

the

> biological integrity of this and future generations in America.

>

> Because vaccines are pharmaceutical products that carry significant

> risks greater for some than others; because doctors and public

health

> officials are not infallible; because what is considered scientific

> truth today can be proven false tomorrow; because philosophical

> exemption to vaccination does not negatively impact on the health of

> individuals or states; and because informed consent to medical risk

> taking is a human right, the National Vaccine Information Center

> urges legislators to affirm the freedom of all New Yorkers to make

> informed, voluntary vaccination decisions for themselves and their

> children by supporting philosophical exemption to vaccination.

>

> National Vaccine Information Center

> NVIC E-News is a free service of the non-profit National Vaccine

> Information Center and is supported through

> <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?

e=001dnwJjVVfQ9xhmF03JAc3qfSrE9NNLNp4Ba5Srh_ukPvy2UpGA_eIF_zIAR8MDdPgm

auCt3TzTBK0UTUumrbMTIHBVXxbGe4WqudDxF7NamM4ljxDEk0zxNdL9OPksIGS9ovpg64

ubd-4PsBIrxYqDtl036ZWUYph>donations.

>

> NVIC is funded through the financial support of its members and does

> not receive any government subsidies. Barbara Loe Fisher, President

> and Co- founder.

>

> Learn more about vaccines, diseases and how to protect your informed

> consent rights

> <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?

e=001dnwJjVVfQ9y07R3_QW1AY15zzwmR_UteDV6uoHM1C2NuXv-3porqLi1BLG4A-

wQrcgJLNv0znBNjEfnD6rsR1x5VWVbT1zehKmAFKwHV04Y=>www.nvic.org

>

> <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001dnwJjVVfQ9waHxGU2_tevLFTbx1Tq3PdDo7a_8j-

wCG52Hj2Yt3c3Saq9MGjnUkqGMXfo1qP7ZKNvLVH9L44706N7EKgyErn6SS7u9AgLg4qGU

RPRDfE0geo_Jurpiua>

>

> email: <mailto:news@...>news@...

> phone: 703-938-dpt3

> web:

> <http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?

e=001dnwJjVVfQ9y07R3_QW1AY15zzwmR_UteDV6uoHM1C2NuXv-3porqLi1BLG4A-

wQrcgJLNv0znBNjEfnD6rsR1x5VWVbT1zeha2OJ0k3qhUg=>http://www.nvic.org

>

> National Vaccine Information Center | 204 Mill St. | Suite B1 |

> Vienna | VA | 22180

>

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

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

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

> Vaccines - http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccine.htm Vaccine Dangers &

> Childhood Disease & Homeopathy Email classes start in December 2008

>

December 21, 2008

Agreed--NY is not the place to be for vaccine-free families.

One clarification: the Hep B vaccine, while of course is unnecessary before the

teenaged years, it is also unnecessary after. But I know what you mean, you're

talking about who is at risk. And it's not just that they will be ineffective

years later if received at birth. They're just plain ineffective anyway and so,

so dangerous. I witnessed my husband's reaction. I cannot imagine how a newborn

tolerates them.

We don't have a philosophical exemptions in CT, either but we do have a nice,

well-used religious exemption, ND's and plenty of holistic minded folks here.

Unfortunately, the cost of living is outrageous...

Winnie

Re: [NVIC] New Yorker's Stand Up for Vaccine Exemptions

Vaccinations

> I live in NY an the amount of gov.t medical control is stifling.

> 1. We

> are the only state that law requires Vit,. K eye drops and Hep B

> shot

> at birth. The Hep B. is not necessary until adolescence and

> shots

> given at birth will be ineffective by time child reaches

> adolescence.

> 2. By law we are 1 of the few states that cannot have mail order

> DNA

> analysis. 3. Naturopaths cannot be licensed even though they

> have the

> same education as Dr.s from an accredited school. 4. There are

> no

> philosophical vaccine exemptions. 5. The whole state seems to

> be very

> anti-natural and holistic treatment. When I was pregnant there

> is

> only one facility for natural water-birth.

> I'm sure many of these laws are not constitutional because they

> limit

> our freedom to choose. For all this, we pay some of the highest

> medical premiums and fees because NY has not reformed

> malpractice

> laws. Therefore, due to the exorbitant malpractice premiums

> many

> highly regarded Dr.s have had to close their practice. For all

> these

> reasons as soon as the opportunity comes to move out of NY, I

> will be

> gone.

>

> Both of my children are fully vaccinated as I relied on

> information

> for the pedi and they of course are pro-vaccine. Probably 80%

> of

> their practice consists of vaccinations given during well

> visits. I

> don't want my youngest (2 1/2) to receive any more vaccines now

> that I

> know what is in them, where is the exemption form for that?

>

> I believe that many of the illnesses that children and adults

> suffer

> from are due to toxic overload, as our air, water, oceans and

> soil

> have all been polluted. Food is of poor nutritional quality

> also

> containing toxins, added sugars, MSG, pesticides and

> antibiotics. It

> seems that whenever scientists try to explain this, some gov't

> official quickly shuts them up. Efforts to clean up the

> environment

> and the food supply will probably much cheaper and better than

> the

> " sick " system we have now.

>

> > #1

> >> Photo courtesy Zichittella-Heeren

> > New Yorker's Stand Up for Vaccine Exemptions

> > by Barbara Loe Fisher

> > In the harbor of New York City stands the Statue of Liberty,

> a

> symbol

> > of freedom that has welcomed millions of immigrants for 112

> years,

> > half of the time that the United States of America has been a

> nation.

> > And on the base of the statue is an inscription that says in

> part

> > " .....Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses

> yearning to

> > breathe free.... "

> >

> > I remembered that phrase when we were driving from Washington,

> D.C.

> > to New York City and our van got caught up in the Sunday

> afternoon

> > Manhattan traffic that led us past the Empire State Building

> on our

> > way to Long Island. Freedom was very much on my mind as we

> headed

> for

> > Stony Brook University to participate in the December 15

> Vaccine

> > Education Roundtable sponsored by New York state Assemblymen

> Marc

> > Alessi (D-1st Assembly District) and Gottfried (D-75th

> > Assembly District), who is Chair of the House Health Committee.

> >

> > Americans have always cherished the freedom to breathe free;

> to

> > speak, write and dissent without fear of retribution; to

> believe in

> > God and worship freely without being persecuted; to vote for

> whom we

> > want to represent us in government and know our vote counts;

> to

> > follow our conscience and stand up for what is right. Although

> > America is only 222 years old, which is very young compared to

> other

> > countries that have existed for several thousands of years,

> during

> > our short history there is no other nation that has defined

> and

> > defended the freedom of citizens to live in a society based on

> the

> > principle of equal rights and consent of the governed any

> better

> than

> > the United States of America.

> >

> > These are troubled times for parents in New York and New

> Jersey and

> > other states. Every day parents are facing more hostility from

> > pediatricians throwing them out of doctor's offices for

> questioning

> > vaccine safety and are being harassed by government officials

> > determined to force their children to get dozens of doses of

> state

> > mandated vaccines without voluntary, informed consent. New

> York

> > currently mandates more than two dozen doses of 11 vaccines

> for

> > school attendance while New Jersey leads the nation with

> nearly

> three

> > dozen doses of 13 vaccines, including annual influenza shots.

> >

> > Religious exemptions are being pulled by state officials after

> they

> > throw parents into rooms and grill them for hours about the

> sincerity

> > of their religious beliefs. Last year in land, state

> officials

> > threatened several thousand parents with jail time and stiff

> fines

> > for failing to show proof their children had gotten hepatitis

> B and

> > chickenpox vaccinations.

> >

> > It is in this climate of fear and crisis of trust between

> parents,

> > who want a more equal role in making vaccination decisions for

> their

> > children, and pediatricians and public health officials, who

> are

> > determined to strengthen their power to tell parents what to

> do,

> that

> > Assemblymen Alessi assembled a panel representing both sides

> to

> > discuss whether or not a philosophical exemption to

> vaccination

> > should be added to New York's vaccine laws. Currently New York

> only

> > provides for a medical and religious exemption, even as 18

> other

> > states allow a personal, philosophical or conscientious belief

> > exemption to vaccination.

> >

> > After the Roundtable, Assemblyman Gottfried expressed strong

> support

> > for First Amendment rights and told the audience of parents,

> doctors

> > and legislative staff that he is sponsoring two bills to

> clarify

> > rights defined under existing religious and medical exemptions

> so

> > they cannot be violated by state officials. After the

> Roundtable

> > concluded, he said " Important issues were raised. I look

> forward to

> > seeing additional data from all sides, especially about the

> impact

> of

> > the personal objection laws in other states. I will be

> reintroducing

> > my bills to strengthen the religious and medical exemptions in

> the

> > 2009 session. I urge parents to contact their local assembly

> members

> > and state senators to urge them to co-sponsor. "

> >

> > Assemblyman Alessi commented that " The discussion framed the

> fact

> > that there is still a large debate on the issue. And although

> some

> > people in the medical community are adamant that this debate

> is

> over,

> > it has only just begun. The amount of conflicting evidence

> parents

> > are presented with regarding the effects of certain vaccines

> is

> > staggering. This forum opened the lines of communication

> between

> > experts in the debate and provided concerned parents with the

> most

> > recent information on the safety of vaccines. As a parent, I

> know

> how

> > difficult it is to make the right decisions regarding our

> children's

> > health, but if we are to make good decisions, we need to be

> well

> > informed and continue to have discussions like this roundtable. "

> >

> > At the beginning of the Roundtable, I framed the vaccine

> safety and

> > informed consent debate and outlined how the informed consent

> > principle relates to philosophical/conscientious belief

> exemption. I

> > reviewed the general health ranking of New York (25th)

> compared to

> > the 18 states which have philosophical exemptions (six of the

> top 10

> > ranked states have philosophical exemption) and noted that the

> U.S.

> > uses more vaccines than any nation in the world but ranks 39th

> in

> > infant mortality. Click

> > > e=001dnwJjVVfQ9zgfHY8e_jjZofGWepEiSN_G7EtorLcNhUlr8RUrxTDh3oEWDsDwFRTs

> -f_cWretCNKqQQPRGkno8Yqmv72XSssSfJQGddJBxJ6U90CYj13VDfp_smhjhIn-

> cZWm-

> PHNibxxYSaoJe72knkrwwz2DEvlRIDB_Sg3SI=>here

> > to read my entire presentation with live links to references

> (see

> text below).

> >

> > Other panelists supporting philosophical exemption to

> vaccination

> > included New York pediatrician Lawrence Palevsky, M.D. , who

> called

> > for an authentic dialogue that " moves past what appears to a

> growing

> > number of citizens to be a one-sided, paternalistic, and

> patronizing

> > set of policies and language with an unwillingness to engage

> in a

> > real discussion about the science of vaccines. " He challenged

> many

> of

> > the myths and misconceptions about the safety and

> effectiveness of

> > vaccine policies.

> >

> > New York's Gilmore, executive director of Autism United,

> who

> has

> > a vaccine injured son with autism and said " without trust, the

> > proponents of forced vaccination have nothing but authority

> and

> > authority is an unacceptable basis for any public policy in a

> > democratic society. " He pointed out operational flaws and

> conflicts

> > of interest in vaccine safety regulation and policymaking.

> Louise

> Kuo

> > Habakus, of the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice,

> who has

> > two young sons recovering from vaccine injuries, presented

> slides

> > summarizing vaccine risks and questioning whether vaccines can

> be

> > credited with major infectious disease morbidity and mortality

> > decreases in the 20th century. She recounted her impression of

> the

> > day's events at

> > > e=001dnwJjVVfQ9xgx6_wRS7lh7TxSNcnzFHoSfo95V0kXFymTUZKnjs1TyjGbPXMaUUXM

> TlHGI8iAIngFUdV1IY9Lz7XY2O9_pcyfsX4AorMari4L_g1RaDeiA==>www.ageofautis

> m.com.

> > (In related events, New Jersey parents held several open

> houses this

> > week to educate New Jersey legislators about the need to

> support

> > pending

> > > e=001dnwJjVVfQ9zyHjm2CTBFhjWxhEg4nfz3Oee409X3LxTibbPYkbvpaPFuUG7K5NrV0

> Y-CpE-nRYdhOxSZ03sxxQcQHSn1OMorgJqpLTp-

> SdBhl9J5rsbY7gAydNX4CBBoe7M2qfsXIu8h-

> o2B7yJDdDwzLaCcPmbwMrqRoy6gQIMxtUjeGFxscTfp6M7MJk9yB6LKj3-

> qLwt0Hra2rtFOP8-cD6mQwDQN>conscientious

> > belief exemption legislation in that state.)

> >

> > Panelists defending current vaccine policies and opposing

> > philosophical exemptions included New York pediatricians

> Lee,

> > M.D. , who agreed vaccine safety should be a high priority but

> > disagreed that the amount of mercury and aluminum in vaccines

> posed

> a

> > health risk; and longtime vaccine policymaker and American

> Academy

> of

> > Pediatrics spokesperson Louis Z. , M.D. , who agreed

> trust

> > between pediatricians and parents needs to be strengthened but

> > defended the safety of existing vaccine policies; and Debra

> Blog,

> > M.D. , medical director of the Immunization Program, New York

> State

> > Department of Health, who showed slides of children with

> infectious

> > diseases and strongly opposed adding philosophical exemption

> to New

> > York state vaccine laws.

> >

> > Following panelist presentations there was a spirited debate

> that

> > lasted for more than two hours as panelists argued and

> defended

> their

> > positions. NVIC's videographer, Fisher, will be making a

> video

> > of the day's events available on NVIC's website.

> >

> > By the end of the day, I thought about how long parents of

> vaccine

> > injured children have been asking pediatricians to become

> partners

> > with them in preventing vaccine injuries and deaths. After

> nearly

> > three decades, parents and doctors inside and outside of

> government

> > could not be further apart. The failure of pediatricians and

> public

> > health officials to take seriously the many cases of

> regression into

> > poor health after vaccination has become the Number One public

> health

> > problem in the U.S. today.

> >

> > There will be no resolution until every state has embraced the

> > informed consent ethic and adopted conscientious or

> philosophical

> > exemption to vaccination in state vaccine laws. At that point,

> > Americans will be free to vote with their feet and the

> vaccines the

> > public considers to be necessary, safe and effective will be

> used

> and

> > those they do not consider to be necessary, safe and effective

> will

> > be driven off the market. And then, a real time comparison of

> the

> > long term health of highly vaccinated, less vaccinated and

> > unvaccinated citizens will tell us a lot about the safety and

> > effectiveness of vaccine policies in the last half of the 20th

> and

> > first half of the 21st centuries.

> >

> > #2

> >

> > Left to right: Barbara Loe Fisher; Gilmore; Lawrence

> Palevsky,

> > M.D. at Dec. 15, 2008 NY Vaccine Education Roundtable. (Photo

> > courtesy Zichittella-Heeren)

> >

> > #3

> > ...

> >

> > Left to right: Lee, M.D., Louis , M.D., Marc

> Alessi,

> > Gottfried, Debra Blog, M.D., Louise Kuo Habakus at Dec. 15,

> 2008 NY

> > Vaccine Education Roundtable (Photo courtesy

> Zichittella-

> Heeren)

> >

> > Statement of Barbara Loe Fisher

> > Co-founder & President, National Vaccine Information Center

> > December 15, 2008 at New York Stony Brook University

> > Vaccine Education Roundtable

> >

> > Assemblyman Alessi and NY State Legislators:

> >

> > Thank you for holding this Vaccine Education Roundtable to

> discuss

> > issues which impact on Assembly Bill 5468 to insert

> philosophical

> > exemption in New York vaccine laws. I appreciate the

> invitation to

> be

> > part of this panel on behalf of New York members of the

> National

> > Vaccine Information Center, non-profit organization founded in

> 1982

> > to prevent vaccine injuries and deaths through public

> education and

> > defend the informed consent ethic.

> >

> > Vaccination is a medical intervention performed on a healthy

> person

> > which carries an inherent risk of injury or death. The risk of

> harm

> > can be greater for some than others and there is no guarantee

> that

> > vaccination will, in fact, confer immunity. With very few

> predictors

> > having been identified by medical science to give advance

> warning

> > that harm or failure to confer immunity will occur,

> vaccination is a

> > medical procedure that could reasonably be termed as

> experimental

> > each time it is performed on a healthy individual.

> >

> > Further, the FDA, CDC and vaccine makers openly state that

> often the

> > numbers of human subjects used in pre-licensing studies are

> too

> small

> > to detect all adverse events caused by a new vaccine. This

> makes

> > government recommended use of newly licensed vaccines by

> millions of

> > children a de facto uncontrolled national scientific

> experiment. In

> > this regard, the ethical principle of informed consent to

> vaccination

> > attains even greater significance.

> >

> > Informed consent means that a patient or guardian has the

> right to

> be

> > fully informed about the benefits and risks of a medical

> procedure

> > and be allowed to make an informed, voluntary decision about

> whether

> > or not to take the risk. Informed consent is an important

> check and

> > balance for the relationship between physicians and patients

> that

> > encourages physicians to obey the Hippocratic oath to " first,

> do no

> harm. "

> >

> > The affirmation of the informed consent ethic in the practice

> of

> > modern medicine is rooted in a rejection of the traditional

> > paternalistic medical model, which places the patient or

> guardian in

> > an unequal, powerless position with a physician and

> facilitates

> > uninformed, involuntary risk taking. The human right for

> individuals

> > to exercise informed consent to participating in scientific

> > experiments was officially acknowledged by the judges of the

> > Nuremberg Tribunal after World War II. Their ringing

> endorsement of

> > individual inviolability and the right to self determination

> when

> > taking medical risks has became an internationally accepted

> moral

> > guidepost for the ethical practice of modern medicine. The

> first

> > principle of the Nuremberg Code begins with:

> >

> > " The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely

> essential.

> > This means that the person involved should have legal capacity

> to

> > give consent; should be so situated as to be able to exercise

> free

> > power of choice, without the intervention of any element of

> force,

> > fraud, deceit, duress, overreaching or other ulterior form of

> > constraint or coercion; and should have sufficient knowledge

> and

> > comprehension of the elements of the subject matter involved

> as to

> > enable him to make an understanding and enlightened decision. "

> >

> > In America, the closest we come to upholding the informed

> consent

> > principle with regard to vaccination is in the 18 states which

> allow

> > personal, philosophical or conscientious belief exemption to

> > vaccination. In the 2008 edition of America's Health Rankings,

> > Vermont is ranked the number one healthiest state. Vermont

> allows

> > philosophical exemption to vaccination. In fact, out of the

> top ten

> > ranked healthiest states, six of them allow philosophical

> exemption

> > (Vermont, Minnesota, Utah, Idaho, Maine, Washington).

> >

> > New York ranks 25th in health behind the nation's most

> populous

> > state, California. The state of California has twice as many

> > residents as New York, as well as more foreign born residents

> and

> > those who speak English as a second language. However, in

> almost all

> > other demographics, California is nearly identical to New York

> in

> > ethnic diversity; numbers of children under age 18; median

> household

> > income and persons living below poverty.

> >

> > California allows philosophical exemption to vaccination.

> >

> > What is interesting is that in the top 10 healthiest states,

> four

> had

> > among the lowest vaccination rates for children ages 19 to 35

> months:

> > Utah (37th) , Idaho (45th), Maine (40th) and Washington

> (48th).

> > California which is ahead of New York in overall health

> ranking, is

> > 31st in vaccination coverage of 19 to 35 month olds while New

> York

> is

> > number 9. The healthiest state, Vermont, is 29th in

> vaccination

> coverage.

> >

> > In fact, health is not primarily measured by high vaccination

> rates

> > or an absence of infectious disease. High vaccination rates

> are not

> > the most important measure of the overall health of citizens.

> The 18

> > states allowing philosophical exemption to vaccination have

> not

> > compromised individual or public health when compared to other

> states.

> >

> > This past September, the CDC announced that national childhood

> > vaccination rates are at near record levels, with at least 90

> percent

> > of young children receiving all but one CDC recommended

> vaccine.

> Less

> > than 1 percent of children aged 19 to 35 months remain

> completely

> > unvaccinated.

> >

> > Today, the U.S. government recommends the use of more vaccines

> than

> > any other country in the world: 69 doses of 16 vaccines for

> girls;

> 66

> > doses of 15 vaccines for boys given between the day of birth

> and age

> > 18. That is triple the numbers of vaccinations recommended by

> public

> > health officials and physician organizations a quarter century

> ago,

> > when 23 doses of seven vaccines (DPT, MMR, OPV) were routinely

> given.

> >

> > But in comparison to other nations, the overall health of

> Americans

> > has not improved since 2004 and there are 27 countries that

> exceed

> > the US in healthy life expectancy while the U.S. ranks 39th in

> infant

> > mortality.

> >

> > Today, 1 in every 143 babies born in America dies; 1 child in

> 450

> > becomes diabetic; 1 in 150 develops autism;1 in 9 suffers with

> > asthma; and 1 in every 6 child is learning disabled.

> >

> > The chronic disease and disability epidemic that has developed

> in

> the

> > last quarter century is killing and injuring more children

> than any

> > infectious disease epidemic in the history of our nation,

> including

> > smallpox and polio. The social, economic, and human costs are

> > enormous: nearly two billion dollars has been paid to vaccine

> victims

> > by the federal government in the Vaccine Injury Compensation

> Program

> > while three-quarters of the more than $2 trillion dollar

> annual

> price

> > tag for health care is spent to care for the chronically ill

> and

> disabled.

> >

> > The big question vaccine educated parents are asking is: why

> are so

> > many of the most highly vaccinated children in the world so

> sick,

> > suffering with all kinds of chronic brain and immune system

> > dysfunction? Why are babies born in the richest country in the

> world

> > dying more often than babies born in poorer countries, who do

> not

> get

> > vaccinated at all or who get far fewer vaccines?

> >

> > It is a question that has not been answered by any scientific

> study

> > conducted to date because there has never been a large,

> prospective

> > study comparing the long term health of highly vaccinated

> children

> to

> > unvaccinated children. In the absence of definitive answers,

> the

> > right to freely exercise medical, religious and philosophical

> > exemption to vaccination is a human right that may well

> determine

> the

> > biological integrity of this and future generations in America.

> >

> > Because vaccines are pharmaceutical products that carry

> significant

> > risks greater for some than others; because doctors and public

> health

> > officials are not infallible; because what is considered

> scientific

> > truth today can be proven false tomorrow; because

> philosophical

> > exemption to vaccination does not negatively impact on the

> health of

> > individuals or states; and because informed consent to medical

> risk

> > taking is a human right, the National Vaccine Information

> Center

> > urges legislators to affirm the freedom of all New Yorkers to

> make

> > informed, voluntary vaccination decisions for themselves and

> their

> > children by supporting philosophical exemption to vaccination.

> >

> > National Vaccine Information Center

> > NVIC E-News is a free service of the non-profit National

> Vaccine

> > Information Center and is supported through

> > > e=001dnwJjVVfQ9xhmF03JAc3qfSrE9NNLNp4Ba5Srh_ukPvy2UpGA_eIF_zIAR8MDdPgm

> auCt3TzTBK0UTUumrbMTIHBVXxbGe4WqudDxF7NamM4ljxDEk0zxNdL9OPksIGS9ovpg64

> ubd-4PsBIrxYqDtl036ZWUYph>donations.

> >

> > NVIC is funded through the financial support of its members

> and does

> > not receive any government subsidies. Barbara Loe Fisher,

> President

> > and Co- founder.

> >

> > Learn more about vaccines, diseases and how to protect your

> informed

> > consent rights

> > > e=001dnwJjVVfQ9y07R3_QW1AY15zzwmR_UteDV6uoHM1C2NuXv-

> 3porqLi1BLG4A-

> wQrcgJLNv0znBNjEfnD6rsR1x5VWVbT1zehKmAFKwHV04Y=>www.nvic.org

> >

> > wCG52Hj2Yt3c3Saq9MGjnUkqGMXfo1qP7ZKNvLVH9L44706N7EKgyErn6SS7u9AgLg4qGU

> RPRDfE0geo_Jurpiua>

> >

> > email: news@...

> > phone: 703-938-dpt3

> > web:

> > > e=001dnwJjVVfQ9y07R3_QW1AY15zzwmR_UteDV6uoHM1C2NuXv-

> 3porqLi1BLG4A-

> wQrcgJLNv0znBNjEfnD6rsR1x5VWVbT1zeha2OJ0k3qhUg=>http://www.nvic.org

> >

> > National Vaccine Information Center | 204 Mill St. | Suite B1

> |

> > Vienna | VA | 22180

> >

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

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

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

> Wales UK

> > Vaccines - http://www.wellwithin1.com/vaccine.htm Vaccine

> Dangers &

> > Childhood Disease & Homeopathy Email classes start in December 2008

> >

December 21, 2008

I declined Hep B for my youngest without any problem. The Vit K and eye ointment

are a problem though. They won't even budge on eye ointment for babies born by

c-section. I hate this state.

Bronwyn

Wife to Kurt since 5/02

Mom to:

Dorian (7/04)

Faith (2/06)

Quinn (4/08)

and my faithful steed Teo (4/91) since 9/95

December 21, 2008

what state is that? ointment if born by c-section?! that is ridiculous. i had a

c-section in NJ (worstpolice state of them all IMO) -refused evertything and

didnt have an issue.... other than being pestered every 5 min.

Arianna Mojica- (UCC 1-207/1-103)

~~~ " All rights not demanded are presumed waived " . ~ Thurston

~~~ " The only safe vaccine is a vaccine that is never used " -- Dr. A.

, National Institutes of Health

~~~A truth¢s initial commotion is directly proportional to how deeply the lie

was believed...When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the

masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its

speaker, a raving lunatic. " Dresden

www.vaclib.org

www.909shot.com

http://www.vacinfo.org/

http://www.vran.org/

http://www.momtoanangel.net/ingred.htm

http://www.moorbows.com/

________________________________

From: Bronwyn Fackrell <quarteralien@...>

Vaccinations

Sent: Sunday, December 21, 2008 12:28:38 PM

Subject: Re: Re: [NVIC] New Yorker's Stand Up for Vaccine

Exemptions

I declined Hep B for my youngest without any problem. The Vit K and eye ointment

are a problem though. They won't even budge on eye ointment for babies born by

c-section. I hate this state.

Bronwyn

Wife to Kurt since 5/02

Mom to:

Dorian (7/04)

Faith (2/06)

Quinn (4/08)

and my faithful steed Teo (4/91) since 9/95

December 21, 2008

Thank you, Winnie, I was going to address the fact that the Hep B vax

isn't " necessary " after adolescence, either. I agree too that NY is

barbaric in it's healthcare and vaccination laws. It's one of the

states on my list of states that I " will NEVER, EVER,

not-even-if-you-paid-me-a-million-dollars, move to under ANY

circumstances " . At least not with their current laws. I'm truly and

sincerely sorry that ANYONE has to live in a state like that and be

forced into submission. You're right, so many of those laws goes

against our basic rights and civil liberties.

I was thinking about this very subject yesterday and decided that if I

ever had to live in a state like NY, I would not only fill out a

religious exemption and use it, but I'd not think twice about actually

adopting a religious denomination like Christian Science in order to

keep my child vax-free. That is the only denomination that I'm aware

of where it is truly against the religion to allow any medical

interventions of any kind. Their services are boring (I used to be a

" soloist " for a local CS church and the organist would have to poke me

when it was time to get up and sing.) but I'd endure it order to keep

my child safe, if I had to! Anyone know of any other religions that

fall into this category?

Come to Colorado! Vaccines exemptions are a very easy one-liner that

takes literally SECONDS to fill out, and is provided by the state.

The quality of living is excellent... lots of fresh air, sunshine,

four real seasons, mostly mild, temperate weather, every major sports

arena in the area, lots of ski resorts, fishing, biking, hiking, parks

galore for the kiddos, lower crime rates for the most part, etc. The

cost of living is higher than it should be, but not as bad as a lot of

the nation. Okay, I'll end my commercial there. LOL

I've never actually been to NY, but it strikes me as a very small

state, land-wise. Is there not a way that you could refuse shots then

take your kids over state lines to a more non-vax friendly state for

school? Just a thought...

On Sun, Dec 21, 2008 at 10:19 AM, <wharrison@...> wrote:

> Agreed--NY is not the place to be for vaccine-free families.

>

> One clarification: the Hep B vaccine, while of course is unnecessary before

> the teenaged years, it is also unnecessary after. But I know what you mean,

> you're talking about who is at risk. And it's not just that they will be

> ineffective years later if received at birth. They're just plain ineffective

> anyway and so, so dangerous. I witnessed my husband's reaction. I cannot

> imagine how a newborn tolerates them.

>

> Re: [NVIC] New Yorker's Stand Up for Vaccine

> Exemptions

> Vaccinations

>

>> I live in NY an the amount of gov.t medical control is stifling.

>> 1. We

>> are the only state that law requires Vit,. K eye drops and Hep B

>> shot

>> at birth. The Hep B. is not necessary until adolescence and

>> shots

>> given at birth will be ineffective by time child reaches

>> adolescence.

December 21, 2008

Sorry, I didn't make that clear. I have the misfortune of living in New York.

Bronwyn

Wife to Kurt since 5/02

Mom to:

Dorian (7/04)

Faith (2/06)

Quinn (4/08)

and my faithful steed Teo (4/91) since 9/95

> From: Arianna Mojica <ariannalaw68@...>

> Subject: Re: Re: [NVIC] New Yorker's Stand Up for Vaccine

Exemptions

> Vaccinations

> Date: Sunday, December 21, 2008, 10:01 AM

> what state is that? ointment if born by c-section?! that is

> ridiculous. i had a c-section in NJ (worstpolice state of

> them all IMO) -refused evertything and didnt have an

> issue.... other than being pestered every 5 min.

>

December 21, 2008

, it's ironic, but we were trying to move to Colorado and that's how we

ended up in NY. DH applied for a job in Denver with a large national company.

That branch didn't want him but they shared his resume with other branches, and

the one here in upstate did want him. Such is life.

And land wise, it's one of the bigger eastern states. It's sort of annoying that

all anyone thinks about when they hear NY is NYC, but there's whole state beyond

that. That said, yes, we have considered moving just over the border. It would

make the commute hellish, especially this time of year. We're getting our second

foot of snow in 3 days.

Bronwyn

From: Roberg <trinnea@...>

Subject: Re: Re: [NVIC] New Yorker's Stand Up for Vaccine

Exemptions

Vaccinations

Date: Sunday, December 21, 2008, 10:04 AM

Thank you, Winnie, I was going to address the fact that the Hep B

vax

isn't " necessary " after adolescence, either. I agree too that NY is

barbaric in it's healthcare and vaccination laws. It's one of the

states on my list of states that I " will NEVER, EVER,

not-even-if- you-paid- me-a-million- dollars, move to under ANY