The Vaccine Injured:
Where has the compassion gone?
by Barbara Loe Fisher (NVIC)
Editor's Note: Vaccination choice is one of the most important freedoms we enjoy... or should enjoy. Just a few weeks ago, I excerpted from the NVIC (National Vaccination Information Center) September newsletter regarding the Gardasil forced-vaccine law in California. This column excerpts from the recent newsletter, another fine and highly informative column by Barbara Joe Fisher. The pro-forced-vaccine forces are strong and cunning, and well-funded thru Corporate largesse. But as my ol' buddy Howard Wooldridge of COP says, "All the bad men in the world can't stop a good man (or a good woman) who keeps on a comin'"
During this season of remembrance and thanksgiving, I am grateful for the blessings that I have had in my life, including the hard times, when I learned that faith and hope can overcome fear and doubt. Adversity can make us stronger but it is also an opportunity to feel and offer compassion to others to ease their suffering.
Compassion:
An Antidote to Cruelty, Inequality, Injustice, Tyranny
In great numbers, Americans reach out to help victims of hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, poverty, violence and disease. Journalists often profile individuals, who are suffering from adversity: the earthquake survivors in Haiti; the victims of hate crimes; children living in poverty dying from starvation and neglect. These stories of human suffering are reminders of why we should listen to our conscience and act in compassionate ways to lessen the suffering of others.
The ability to have compassion for others is an antidote to cruelty, inequality, injustice, and tyranny.
Valuing Individual Life, Freedom and Compassion
America was founded by men and women immigrants, who had personally suffered oppression and adversity, and knew how important it is to treat individuals with respect and compassion. There is a ringing endorsement in the U.S. Declaration of Independence for the individual's right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and in the Constitution for the right to freedom of speech and personal religious beliefs. Perhaps it is that fundamental appreciation for the value of the individual, which is part of our history and culture, that has taught us to value conscience and compassion.
Vaccine Injured Not Treated with Compassion
So it is sad to see what happens in America today when babies, children and adults react to vaccines and become permanently injured or even die. When healthy people suffer complications from infectious diseases, they are treated with compassion. But when healthy people suffer complications from vaccination, often they are not treated with compassion. Many times, vaccine victims are victimized all over again by those, who deny the reality of what happened or use a utilitarian rationale to dismiss them as acceptable losses in the War on Infectious Disease.
In the News
If You Go to Church, Heed This Warning
"Recently the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, held an invitation-only call. The call was co-sponsored by the U.S. Health and Human Services, the Office of Minority Health, and CDC. Conspicuously, the end of the invitation read: "This call is off the record and is not for press purposes" -- but it became public when it showed up on the HHS website. Fortunately one of our staff was able to get on the call. The focus of the call was on getting faith-based organizations to sponsor flu clinics with Walgreens. Basically, they want to move inside your church, mosque or synagogue, and set up shop, with your pastor, priest, imam and rabbi on hand to convince you to get a flu shot. As an example, they cited a priest who stopped in the middle of mass to roll up his sleeve and get vaccinated, inspiring the rest of his parish to line up behind him." Mercola.com. Dec. 6, 2011
Are 'Opt-Out ' Parents and Unvaxxed Kids A Health Threat?
"More and more parents are opting out of vaccinations for their kids. In eight states now, more than 1 in 20 public school kindergartners aren't getting all the vaccines required for attendance, an Associated Press analysis found. That growing trend among parents seeking vaccine exemptions has health officials worried about outbreaks of diseases that once were all but stamped out. "Study after study after study has shown that vaccines are safe, so why are so many parents still convinced it's not right for their children?" TODAY's Matt Lauer asked NBC Chief Medical Editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman. Snyderman said it's not a lack of resources or education. The "profile" of the non-vax parent is middle-class, college educated and web-savvy, she said." [Also see MSNBC Vax/Unax Poll Results]. MSNBC. Nov. 29, 2011.
Florida GOP Lawmaker Bill Would Recommend HPV Vaccine For Young Girls
State. Sen. Thad Altman, R-Melbourne, has filed legislation that would urge parents to give young girls HPV vaccines upon entering the sixth grade. The vaccine has become a hot-button issue among conservatives who believe giving young girls a vaccine that prevents cervical cancer promotes promiscuity. HPV, or the human papillomavirus, is a sexually transmitted virus. Senate Bill 1116 (.pdf) would require the state's health department to "adopt a rule adding the human papillomavirus to the list of communicable diseases for which immunizations are recommended." The Florida Independent. Dec. 7, 2011. [Sign up to be a user of NVIC's free online Advocacy Portal (www.NVICAdvocacy.org) and defend vaccine informed consent rights].
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