Sorry for not posting in a while, my wife and I had our son and I have been enjoying a few weeks at home with them. Being a father is truly a blessing from the Lord.
Now, since having the little guy, we have been trying to do our homework on things we didn't necessarily give much thought to on the front end- namely doctor visits, shots, vaccines, well-baby visits, etc.
I have since read a couple of books (information at the bottom of this post) on the above that are against the established regimen. What I mean is, they do not favor the above. Instead, they promote allowing the immune system to develop as nature intended and to stay away from vaccines, vitamin K shots, etc.
In the process of reading those books, I have grown tremendously in my understanding regarding the vaccines, alternatives and how to interact with my pediatrician and her cohorts at our child's clinic. What is more, I found something very interesting and it poses a dilemma for me... and I believe every Christian.
Here is that dilemma: Would you take something that, in all probability, will do more harm than good that is derived from a voluntarily aborted fetus, and inject that into your child? I cannot. Throw every other reason for not getting vaccinated out of the window (Death, paralysis, autism, brain damage, and a host of other side effects) and let's say there are no side effects. Every person who is vaccinated will be perfectly normal and the vaccine will do exactly as it is marketed to do- vaccinate. Now, the only issue left on the table is that the vaccines are derived from human fetuses that were aborted back in the 60's and 70's... would I be willing to inject the vaccine in my child? For the good of the rest of the children (herd mentality)? No.
Here is a quote in a letter written in response to a concerned parent regarding state law regarding vaccines and the Catholic Church's stance on vaccines being derived from aborted babies: If someone rejects every form of voluntary abortion of human foetuses, would such a person not contradict himself/herself by allowing the use of these vaccines of live attenuated viruses on their children? Would it not be a matter of true (and illicit) cooperation in evil, even though this evil was carried out forty years ago? Citation.
However, later in the letter, it is stated that if there is a great threat to society as a whole, then it is okay to take such vaccines temporarily, for the good of mankind.
From what I have been reading (written by doctors who work in the field and in pediatrics), no vaccine can be accredited for wiping out or drastically diminishing infections. Every disease that there is a vaccination for was already in decline (and most were drastically declining) by the time the vaccinations were put on the market. So, there would appear no moral obligation to take a vaccine derived from human fetuses that were aborted.
It also stands to reason that most outbreaks tend to occur in those that have been vaccinated. One study even showed that there was a population that was 100% vaccinated against measles and they still had an outbreak.
For me, the risks outweigh any perceived or marketed benefit. Now, what do we do about schooling? Homeschooling is one option and another is to reject vaccines based on religious grounds (a sample letter can be found here) and see if we can still place our child(ren) in public/private schools.
There are a lot of responsibilities that come with children- however, the benefits/blessings of having them outweigh the responsibilities and over time we may not always make the right decisions, but we will make informed decisions.
Some questions:
-Have you given any thought to vaccines?
-Does this little bit of information at the very least cause you to want to look into this more?
-Can a Christian knowingly accept vaccinations for themselves or for their children if they are derived from aborted fetuses?
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One of the books I have read on the subject: How To Raise A Healthy Child... In Spite Of Your Doctor by Robert S. Mendelsohn, M.D. (here is a negative article about him and here is a positive article about him). The book is dated, but I found a lot of thought provoking information contained in its pages. Also, the book answers well the charges brought up against it/him in the negative review- such as why he only saw 6-10 patients a week.
Another book i've read is: Vaccine Alternatives It is written by Ervin Davis, M.D. (A review of the book) This is the only book that I can find he has written, but it is thorough and full of cited material that is not dated. The book was written in 2008 and very current. He cites lots of studies and every stat that he gives, he backs it up with studies. I found this to be a great book that caused me to pause and give more thought to this entire medical issue. He also gives information on how the immune system works and why injecting viruses may not be the best method for building immunity to viruses that are commonly contracted through the air. What is more, he doesn't just leave you with what is wrong, he gives you some information on how to live a healthy lifestyle that will aide you in building your immune system to fight off diseases and viruses naturally.
Here is a link to the CDC and what they have to say about the MMR vaccine. Updated Link as the CDC moved it. They state just a little way down why the vaccine is made from aborted fetal tissue (cell linings) and towards the bottom, risks are discussed in short order. Once on the page, just do a search (CTRL+F) for the word Aborted.
Here are some video discussion between doctors on the issue of mandatory vaccinations. These are very one sided and seem to be overly emotional for the most part.
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Part 1
Part 2
14 comments:
I found a voice on the other side: Dr. Walt- 13 Vaccination Myths
I read through them and also some other posts he wrote on vaccines. He tackles some of the very issues that the books cited above bring up... however, he selectively addresses them. Such as Vaccine Myth #2: Vaccines Don't Work. He cites studies regarding the Hib Vaccine and its success rate. However, he does not address MMR, Pertusis, and others. He also seems to downplay the risks of the vaccines giving very little mention to side effects.
In another section on vaccines on his site he makes reference to the "herd". Basically the premise is that if you are not vaccinated and get ineffected, you put everyone else at risk. However, if the vaccine does what it is made to do, then how does anyone else get infected? Well, they are not always reliable. If they are not always reliable, then why are they nearly mandatory for school enrollment? And, if they are not always reliable, then the population is at risk regardless of whether or not vaccines have been administered.
Anyways, Dr. Walt is the first resource I have found that has presented the other side of the argument and he does think that one of the cell linings from an aborted fetus is okay to use ethically but the other is not.
He was a part of Focus on the Family giving medical tidbits on the radio program and he is a professing Christian that has a book out covering this topic. Here is his "about me" page.
j razz
Here is a good history dealing with Thimerosal (a preservative in vaccines that is by weight, almost half mercury- a harmful toxin). It discusses what it is, who makes it, what it does, studies performed on it, legislation regarding it and the drug companies, links to neurological problems, and leaked memo's from Merk that show the drug manufacturer new it was dangerous while still pumping it out in vaccines.
Here is the link.
j razz
In 2001, the Institute of Medicine convened a committee (the Immunization Safety Review Committee) to review selected issues related to immunization safety. [For more information regarding this committee, their charge, and their reports, find the link to IOM's Web site in "Related Links" below.] The IOM has, to date, completed reviews in two areas. The first review by this committee focused on a potential link between autism and the combined mumps, measles, and rubella vaccine. The second review focused on a potential relationship between thimerosal use in vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders (IOM 2001). This latter issue was brought to the fore primarily as the result of the hypothesis, formulated by S. Bernard and others from Cure Autism Now, that autism is a novel form of mercury poisoning (Bernard et al. 2001); this hypothesis, linking autism to mercury, was based on a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on mercury toxicity.
In its report of October 1, 2001, the IOM's Immunization Safety Review Committee concluded that the evidence was inadequate to either accept or reject a causal relationship between thimerosal exposure from childhood vaccines and the neurodevelopmental disorders of autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and speech or language delay. Additional studies were needed to establish or reject a causal relationship. The Committee did conclude that the hypothesis that exposure to thimerosal-containing vaccines could be associated with neurodevelopmental disorders was biologically plausible.
Taken from the FDA website.
(bold is mine)
j razz
Here is a link to a pdf file from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)giving links to studies showing that study after study shows that no link can be found between vaccines and Autism (and other neurological disorders).
However, they only studied MMR (mostly) and DTP (one study) and they mainly focused on the preservative Thimerosal.
One study found a possible link between thimerosal in DPT and the neurodevelopmental issue of tics.
What about all the other vaccines? What about all the other ingredients that are used in making vaccines including animal matter? It would seem fair to me that if you are going to claim vaccines as safe, you would study more than two vaccines and more than one ingredient in them (besides the actual virus itself).
I find it hard to believe that the AAP would make a blanket statement concerning all vaccines and only give studies that have been done with MMR and one with DPT while only taking one ingredient into account and proclaim all vaccines safe. This seems some what irresponsible. It would have been better if they would have said MMR and DPT are shown to be safe based on theses studies.
j razz
Here is a link to a good history on the usage of aborted fetal cells in vaccines. It also discusses why there will be a need for more aborted fetuses to continue making vaccines and the moral dilemma that comes with vaccine administration.
It also discusses the validity of the Machiavellian principle (the end justifies the means) and how it is being used with vaccines.
Here is the link.
j razz
(previous comment edited for grammar)
I have gone back and forth about vaccinations and finally decided to go ahead with them after a lot of research and a long talk with our pediatrician, but I have NEVER heard that there are were ingredients in them derived from aborted fetuses. Never. How can this not be a well-known fact if it is indeed true?
For the record, my doctor told us the vaccinations he uses do not have thimerosal in them.
Hi Glenna,
I hope you and your family are doing well. My grandmother who lives near you is in the hospital in Cape. She had a blood vessel burst in her brain and for a while we didn't think she was going to come out of it (long story). She is now in rehab and talking and swallowing and trying to regain usage of her left side. Just thought you guys may want to know.
Per the aborted fetal cells- well, just click on the links throughout the blog post. The facts are there and it is readily admitted on the CDC and FDA websites. Crazy stuff I know. Dr. Green and I talked about this a few weeks back and he was made aware of it by an ethicist friend of his a few years ago. He said he did not know about it until that point.
I just recently sent a letter to my child's doctor (she gave me her email address so we could discuss this issue). She is open to altered schedules and the like, but I really do want to hear her opinion on the matter. In the letter I posted three arguments proponents use for why it is ethically acceptable (Dr. Walt would be one in this camp) and these are arguments that I would use if I was to be fair in the issue. I also answered them from an opponents view and to me, my opinion and conviction, I cannot do it as the proponent's views do not stand in regards to the usage of aborted fetal cell cultures.
I may post that letter I sent to her on here or I may not; I haven't decided yet. If you want a copy, just email me or ask for it.
As for thimerosal free vaccines... from what I have read, the FDA and CDC labeled vaccines thimerosal free (or equivalent to) if they contain less than .3 micrograms in the vaccine. They are not free of thimerosal, they just contain trace amounts. It seems rather confusing as some charts on the FDA website actually say that thimerosal is not used as a preservative... so, was it used for filtering? Is it even in there? If not, why mention it? They should just say if it is in the product or if it is not. Thimerosal free may not always mean free- it may mean trace amounts. However, if you take several vaccines at the same time, what happens to those trace amounts? Do they add up? What then?
Here is a link to a pdf on the CDC's website- look at the footnotes for Thimerosal.
It is a tough call Glenna. Currently if the moral issue was not there, I would still lean towards not getting them. I wouldn't think other parents wrong for getting them, I just know that at this time, I would sin against my conscience.
j razz
This is so incredibly disturbing. I am at a complete loss for words, honestly. Now I wonder--do I take my son to his next appt. to get his boosters for the most recent shots he got? Do I talk with our pediatrician about this? Will he even know about this? I just have no idea what to do with this information.
the only advice i can give you is to look into it for yourself and do that which you can do by faith.
it is a tough decision to make and one that carries a lot of weight. shoot me an email or call if you want.
You have a lot of interesting information here. I haven't had a chance to look at all your links but I'll do that.
The thimerosal issue is has been studied extensively and shown to be a non-player. Also, the mercury is in a compound which is not metabolized and is quickly expelled from the body. Grabbing onto "mercury" is like saying don't use salt because it has chlorine in it. Chlorine is a deadly poison.
I'm really puzzled by the statement that vaccines haven't helped decrease the incidence of disease. Sounds like wishful thinking to me. Smallpox is one example I can think of. It was ravaging Europe and England before Jenner discovered that coxpox promoted reduced effects, reduced mortality, and in many cases prevented infection.
Modern epidemiological groups are noting a rise in pertusis among groups that are not being vaccinated.
The aborted fetus cell complication is another matter altogether, and is very disturbing scientifically and morally. Scientifically because of the DNA contamination issue. Morally because of the scourge of abortion. I haven't read the FDA link. Do they really say "aborted" or just "fetal?" Could they be using placental or miscarriage tissue? If that's the case, then it's more related to human organ donation following death.
Hi B Nettles,
I'm really puzzled by the statement that vaccines haven't helped decrease the incidence of disease. Sounds like wishful thinking to me. Smallpox is one example I can think of.
From what I have read the Hib vaccine has shown that it is useful as a vaccine but it also carries side effects (but it does a good job vaccinating). As for measles, mumps and others, those have been shown to have already been on the decline due to conditions in sanitation improving. Dr. Mendelsohn states in his book (as well as Dr. Ervin Davis) that other western countries who did not widely use the vaccines also showed heavy decline. Also the pertussis vaccine was done away with in Sweden due to its shown ineffectiveness.
As for the aborted fetal cells- well, see the email I sent you.
Thanks for weighing in on the Thimerosal issue.
j razz
I sent this to Dr. Albert Mohler to gather his opinion on the matter. I was informed that he addressed the issue on his radio program the Wednesday before last. It is the last issue discussed on that radio program.
Here is the link
I would like to ask you to read this article in addition to the comments you hear on Mohler's program- it will fill in the open-endedness of his answer: "The Need for Further Fetal Tissue"
j razz
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