'Why I Oppose California's SB 277 Bill': A Unique Insight Into The Minds Of Anti-Vaccine Parents

The United States has, from my European perspective, always been a country that leaves ample space for personal freedoms — including, but absolutely not limited to, parental rights. Compared to many European parents, American parents have enormous freedom to decide whether or not to vaccinate their children. 

It's obvious and obviously sane that those children who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons — because they have immune system disorders that would make vaccinating dangerous, for instance — can be exempt from mandatory vaccine laws. Only a year ago, 48 US states also allowed for a religious exemption, allowing parents who feel vaccinating would violate their religious beliefs to opt out. Furthermore, a total of 17 states allowed for a personal belief, conscientious, or philosophical exemption to vaccination. This essentially means residents in those states could choose not to vaccinate if they believed vaccines to be dangerous, ineffective, or simply unnecessary. 

That's changing now. A recent measles outbreak in Disneyland, California, was the catalyst that made state legislators introduce bill SB 277, the most stringest vaccination law in the US to date. The move was made after rates of non-vaccination rose, along with cases of diseases that are known as "vaccine-preventable".

This law removes religious and personal exemptions, though the religious part may still be challenged on the grounds that it violates the constitution, which guarantees religious liberty. When SB 277 comes into force, unvaccinated children who do not have a medical exemption wil not be allowed to enroll in the public school system, and even private school, private and public preschool, and afterschool programs are covered by the bill. It's not weird to assume that California's new bill will set a precedent, and that other states will follow suit by introducing similar bills. 

The law has, to say the least, proven controversial. It has strong supporters, but also strong opponents, mainly among parents who prefer to retain their right to make medical decisions on behalf of their children. The debate has a strong political component, but it's above all about public health. Here at SteadyHealth we offer scientifically-accurate health information, but we do think it's both important and fascinating to learn why some people are so very strongly opposed to mandatory vaccinations.

Do you think opposition to vaccines has increased in recent years? If so, why?

Yes. Law makers insist on the view that the science is unequivocal and that vaccines are safe and effective. But anti-vaccination movement activists, who rely on their own sources of scientific research, parental concern and intuition, fear the increased pressure on parents’ right to decide what is in their children’s best interest.

One of the reasons the anti-vaccine movement has gained momentum in recent years is precisely this increased pressure which has made parents even more suspicious. The increasing number of doctors who oppose mandatory vaccination and the existence of independent peer reviewed research that questions vaccine safety and effectiveness have made parents less likely to relax and trust their government. 

The level of pressure and psychological manipulation the government employs in its attempt to crush the anti-vaccine movement culminates in Jimmy Kimmel’s message for the anti vaxxers: "Vaccinate your kids, you dumb assholes, or don’t bother expecting any medical treatment from your doctors because you know better, so go fix your own broken head. How dare you question what most doctors agree on?" Leaving aside whether or not most doctors agree on the issue of vaccines, doctors also used to promote smoking not very long ago. What lies behind this message? Is Kimmel, whose show is on ABC, which is owned by Disney, whose profits were severely affected by the outbreak, truly concerned about our kids’ well-being?

READ The New California Measles Vaccination Law: Tyranny or Necessity?

There is this belief that most doctors are pro-vaccine. A large number of them certainly are, which is due to their personal belief, their education and experience, but there is also their fear of being labeled a quack and losing their job, or a possible personal benefit.

Why Some Parents Oppose Mandatory Childhood Vaccination

Why do some parents choose not to vaccinate their children?

The human immune system is complex, dynamic and dependant on multiple variables. It is activated by becoming sick, that is by coming into contact with various pathogens. A newborn’s immature immune system is highly dependent on its mother’s, and if the baby receives some of its mother’s colostrum, the first milk, extremely rich in antibodies, often referred to as the natural vaccine, and continues to breastfeed, it will be protected against all things the mother is immune to. It is extremely rare for breastfed babies to become sick with any of the childhood diseases they are meant to receive vaccination for in the first year.

The vaccine ingredients can be particularly worrisome. Some of them include mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, neomycin, proteins of animal and human origin, etc. Some of these are neurotoxins, and allergens. Not every mandatory vaccination supporting doctor is familiar with vaccine ingredients or wants to know exactly what they are injecting into their patients. But they might still tell you how, by choosing not to vaccinate, you are putting others at risk of infection by endangering herd immunity. Even if herd immunity could be achieved by vaccinating the majority, how will mass vaccination ever prevent disease being carried and spread via people’s noses, throats, intestines, skin? And how will it ever prevent other living things we are in constant contact with from carrying and spreading such infections? And if the non-vaccinated can infect the vaccinated how exactly are vaccines protecting us?

Why do you believe vaccines are dangerous?

Vaccines are proven to be dangerous; the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System would not exist otherwise. In case of vaccine injury, pharmaceutical companies are protected from taking responsibility in almost all countries. The responsibility is passed down to the government and if it accepts that the injury was caused by the vaccine, compensation is paid out of taxpayers’ money.

While multiple studies seem to deny any correlation of MMR, for example, to autism, increased rates of autism, and many auto-immune diseases and other conditions seem to coincide with the introduction of mandatory vaccination and unnecessary overstimulation of the immune system. 

The reduction and eradication of some diseases, often attributed to the introduction of vaccines also coincide with changes in human education, behavior, diet, hygiene habits, etc.  There are in fact no studies or clinical trials published that compare the health outcomes of the vaccinated vs the non-vaccinated. No trials were conducted because vaccines have always been believed to be safe, despite plenty of scientific evidence to the contrary. Also most vaccine trials exclude the more susceptible and vulnerable groups, leading to under-reporting of adverse effects.

READ Vaccinations: What You Really Need To Know

With all this information and more available out there, and modern parents being less prone to rely on information provided by the media or the government, it is not surprising that the anti-vaccine movement is gaining in strength and the forces that wish to crush it are employing more and more draconian measures. The most important question to ask is who benefits by there being no opposition to mandatory vaccination? To make up your mind, or to make a decision, do your own research, and beware of the quacks on both sides.