Do the crime, pay the time—at least that’s what the county health department said to me when I went to fill out the necessary paperwork to procure religious vaccine exemptions in order for my children to attend school.

In my “conservative stronghold” state, even a private school is forbidden from admitting students lest they present religious exemptions acquired by a parent through the government health department. Last Friday, when I capitulated to my abuser’s demands—whoops! I meant to say, when I went to satisfy legal requirements to uphold my personal convictions, little did I know I would become a prisoner of conscience.

After checking in with the “clinic” desk, I was told to wait in the lobby. As a native English speaker seeking a religious exemption, I was a minority by far; the majority of the “clients” only spoke Spanish (requiring bilingual staff), and they were all there for welfare or subsidized medicine. (I sat there wondering how much this was costing me.)

I was called and buzzed through a door to partitioned desks, at which point the woman behind the glass took my letters—I had to provide hardcopy “requests”—and began building my family’s file. She asked for every bit of personal information possible; I have never seen a government employee transcribe information so efficiently, and I doubt I ever will again.

She told me I’d have to meet with a nurse and watch a video; to this I asked “I have to?” She said that I could decline, but it was strongly discouraged. I returned to the lobby, before being called back by “RN Simpson” who brought me to a semi-secluded injection site room, turned on the video, and left—so much for freedom of choice. The room contained unlocked refrigerators full of vaccines, confidential paperwork was in my view, and the computer video player was not a locked application—what sensitive data could I have hypothetically accessed?

The video’s narrator was a “prominent” pediatrician propped up as a “health expert” (her evident obesity indicates otherwise), and the doctor made no pretense of hiding the agenda: this was vaccine reeducation. If these unsophisticated anti-vaxxers want to act subhuman, then they can be treated as subhuman; as the doctor said, “If every parent exempted their child from vaccination, these diseases would return in the community in full force.” Also, “Many hospitalizations and even deaths are caused by infections of unvaccinated children with vaccine preventable diseases.”

The doctor insisted vaccines were safe, because they’re “tested in very large studies” and when adverse side effects like seizures, retardation, and death do happen, it’s par for the course because “this can happen with any other medication too.” (Curiously, she implied that vaccines are part of the “medication” family. Odd, no?) She said the medications (vaccines) must be in a number of studies to “ensure safety and effectiveness.” Now where have I heard that before?

From Saturday:

A toxicology report shows that a new mom in Maine was right. Her baby, Sawyer, died … just 34 hours after being vaccinated.

And, last month:

In 2013 … Health and Human Services … commissioned an update of earlier findings on the lack of evidence to support claims that the … (CDC) infant/child vaccination schedule was safe.

…

Ten years later, the CDC has yet to do such a comparison study, even though it is sitting on a vast repository of data in the VSD….

The doctor relied on “sound” medical advice from both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC (appeal to authority fallacy); about a month ago, the AAP issued a statement to “reaffirm” its “gender-affirming care policy” which currently includes the organization’s support for “transgender” surgery of minors, and the CDC? Needless to say, I don’t exactly have the highest regard for either of these “medical” institutions.

Failing to vaccinate your child is akin to willful negligence; “doing nothing is still doing something” and forgoing vaccines is a choice that actively puts everyone at risk.

Simpson returned shortly after the video had ended, and said she needed to go over a few things with me, just to make sure I really understood the “consequences of my actions.”

“You know unvaccinated children spread diseases. If your children cause an outbreak, no one will be able to attend school and this will affect you too; you’ll miss work, do you realize that?”

“Your choices are putting the community at risk, do you realize this?”

My “certificates” for religious exemption were held hostage unless I signed a “Record of Vaccine Declination” form which noted:

My healthcare provider has recommended that my child be vaccinated….

I understand that my unvaccinated child could spread disease to another child … This could result in health complications and even death for the other person.

I clarified she was certainly not my healthcare provider, but it didn’t matter; on the back:

Unfortunately, some parents will refuse to have their child receive some vaccines. For healthcare providers who want to assure that these parents fully understand the consequences of their decision….

‘To address the risk of VPD [vaccine-preventable disease], states should consider adopting more rigorous standards for non-medical vaccine exemptions that require parents to demonstrate that they have made a conscious, concerted, and informed decision in requesting these exemptions for their children. An example of such a standard might include a requirement for parents to complete a form that explicitly states the grounds for the exemption and requires them to acknowledge awareness of the disease-specific risks associated with not vaccinating their child(ren) [emphasis added].’

Lastly, the document includes a blurb for “providers” which issues this mandate:

For parents who refuse one or more recommended immunizations, document your conversation and … have a parent sign the Refusal to Vaccinate form, and keep the form in the patient’s medical record [emphasis added].

I feel like the miner’s canary, attempting to signal that the danger is everywhere, even in the “conservative strongholds” but people only seem to notice once it’s too late.

Image: Free image, Pixabay license, no attribution required.