Vaccine Refusal:
Our Three-Month Old Baby's First Trip to the Pediatrician
Vaccine Refusal and Medical Intimidation
by Josh Day
As our son was born at home in February of 2007, we were fortunate enough to not endure the battery of tests, dubious administrations like silver nitrate and the vitamin K shot, and the routine Hepatitis B vaccine most hospitals recommend and/or require for all newborn infants.
It is our belief and nonprofessional medical opinion that the vast majority of vaccines are little cluster bombs in a burgeoning immune system.
It's also our opinion that vaccines are potentially harmful to deadly, especially when administered in an inoculation "cocktail" of multiple shots. This barrage of toxic substances is not being delivered into an adult who weighs over a hundred pounds, mind you, but into a tiny baby less than fifteen pounds and not even four months of age.
The purpose of this article is to share our experience at our pediatrician's office and to help parents who have decided against vaccinating their children. Be it a medical, religious, or philosophical reason, if you have made the choice against vaccination, you must be ready to defend your decision during your visits to pediatricians.
Editor's note: If you are unsure about vaccination or if you are pro-vaccine, scroll to the bottom of this page and thoughtfully examine the links I provide.
When the nurse asked us about James' vaccine schedule, we politely and firmly told her we would not be vaccinating him. We were fortunate as she was non-confrontational and did not push the issue. However, one should be prepared for a hostile response because some medical personnel may attempt to intimidate or shame you into changing your mind. In extreme cases, some may even threaten child protection services or go so far as to label vaccine refusal as child abuse.
These are most likely idle threats, based on typical medical education that only presents the pro-vaccine point of view.
In any event, stay polite, firm, and do not back down. Do not let an aggressive nurse engage you in an argument or discussion of the issue.
If the sitatuion gets nasty, politely tell the nurse you are done talking and will only speak further with the doctor.
If it's the doctor who won't relent and continues to mention words like "child abuse," politely inform him/her that you need a pediatrician you can work with, someone who respects your wishes regarding vaccines for your child. And then leave and find a different doctor.
The most important thing to remember is that you can scoop up your baby and leave at any time. They cannot and will not hold you against your will. And even the most outrageous and bellicose nurse will not attempt to inject your child against your wishes.
To continue the narrative about our experience, the nurse returned with a vaccine refusal form for us to sign. Legally, you do not have to sign any forms. However, chances are good that without your signature your child will be refused treatment and you will have to shop elsewhere for pediatric services.
If you are given a form like we were, read it carefully, and read it twice. Do not let the nurse or doctor's impatience speed you up or have you sign prematurely. Watch out for forms that lock your signature into a clause that states you are medically endangering your child. If you put your name to such a statement, CPS could have a case against you. The damning sentence posed to us read something like "We acknowledge we are endangering our child's life by refusing..."
The fix was simple. We merely crossed out the clause. The rest of the form was acceptable as it merely stated which vaccines we were refusing, the benefits and risks, and that we had been informed. There is absolutely no reason for the endangerment clause other than to intimidate, scare, and advance the pharmaceutical industry's war effort against informed parents who refuse to vaccinate.
Unfortunately, things weren't quite over.
When the doctor came in, she actually tried to make us sign a fresh form. In no uncertain terms we refused. We remained polite, but we let her know exactly why we would not sign that clause. We stated something like, "As James' parents, we feel we would be endangering his life by vaccinating him. We are good parents to our son and will not sign otherwise."
We remained cool and firm and eventually came to a compromise that satisfied both parties. We scratched out the original clause and wrote in: "We have been informed by our doctor of the risks and benefits of vaccines." We then initialed the new clause.
Below are the preparations we took before we entered the doctor's office. We had done a lot of reading and were prepared for any eventuality. It's important for those of us who choose not to vaccinate to do our homework so we can present our point of view unemotionally and convincingly. Remember: the nurses and doctors have their ducks in a row where vaccinations are concerned... do you?
- First and foremost, do a little research and find an open-minded doctor who isn't vaccine-crazed. If you're new to the area, visit the local health food store. Talk to the owner and ask about pediatricians, and specifically mention you are anti-vaccine. If the owner does not have children, chances are she'll know someone who does and knows of a good doctor. Making an appointment at the pediatrician's office without requesting a specific doctor can be a game of roulette as you have no idea who or what kind of attitudes you'll get.
- Always have both the mother and father present during doctor visits. Medical personnel are much less likely to gang up on you if you're both there. One thing I did was hold James throughout the visit. By and large, women are deemed weaker targets on which to thrust medical intervention, and having me hold James sent a subtle yet powerful psychological message.
- Go in with a one-page printed and signed statement expressing your view on vaccination. You may even want to go so far as having it notorized. Be sure to fully research the vaccine laws in your area before you sign anything as one seemingly insignificant word could be damning down the road. Legally, the written word is your most powerful tool, and a cogent and concise statement of where you stand regarding vaccination demonstrates your resolve as well as the fact that you're an informed parent.
- Before the appointment, have one parent wait in the car with the child while the other waits in the waiting room. Even if the facility has "sick" and "well" waiting rooms, pediatrician's offices are swamps of germs, and each room is most likely on the same ventilation system. Protecting your well baby from sickness is another act of showing you are informed and a good parent. Do not let dirty looks or rude comments cause you to bring the baby inside before you are called.
- Go out of your way to be polite and nice to the nurse when you first meet her even though, ultimately, it will not be the nurse you'll be dealing with but the doctor.
- Even though it's important to remain polite and non-emotional, be prepared for aggression. The night before, assign one parent to be a "good cop" and the other the "bad cop." Good cop-bad copping is a wonderful technique to get what you want and to avoid being taken advantage of. Have the good cop be super nice, and the bad cop hard-nosed.
- Be prepared to walk out. At any time. If the doctor becomes hostile and threatens to not "see" you, politely inform the doctor you need a physician you can trust and who respects your point of view and then walk out without saying another word. Remember, it is they who are providing the service, and you are paying dearly for it.
- Your pediatrician is NOT necessarily your friend. Do not let a doctor sweet-talk you or otherwise trick you into vaccinating if you've decided against it.
- Never sign anything that contains a clause stating you are a neglectful parent or are "endangering" your child.
- Finally and most importantly, "Be nice." No matter what they throw at you, be nice, even if you have to walk. You gain nothing by getting angry, but you could lose a lot. Stay detached and friendly.
Very Important: You do not want to miss reading my review of Vaccine Legal Exemptions, a legal guide which I consider to be the informed, non-vaccinating parent's Bible to vaccine laws.
Also, I recommend a video on vaccine dangers with an introduction by Dr. Ben Kim as well as some excellent commentary below the video.
Here is an incredible article about breaking down the myths of the vaccine era. This is a great place to start reading!
And one mother's story, dating back to the late 1970s: In the Wake of Vaccines (PDF format)
For further vaccine reading, check out my article on thimerosal and autism, as well as a disturbing June 2007 Robert Kennedy thimerosal commentary (with hundreds of intelligent comments from readers whose lives have been impacted by vaccine-related issues).
Autism: a Twisted Tale of Virus and Thimerosal
At the above link you'll find an important PDF article discussing autism, thimerosal, and possible genetic and bacterial predispositions to vaccine reactions.
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