BIG: KENTUCKY GOVERNOR STANDS AGAINST
FORCED VACCINATIONS
Republican attacked for naturally exposing his nine children to chickenpox
BY KELEN MCBREEN
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:
Kentucky’s Republican Gov. Matt Bevin made headlines after revealing he purposely exposed his nine children to chickenpox during an interview with Bowling Green radio station WKCT on Tuesday.“Every single one of my kids had the chickenpox. They got the chickenpox on purpose because we found a neighbor that had it and I went and made sure every one of my kids was exposed to it, and they got it. They had it as children,” Bevin said in the interview.“Why are we forcing kids to get it?” he continued. “If you are worried about your child getting chickenpox or whatever else, vaccinate your child. … And in many instances, those vaccinations make great sense. But for some people, and for some parents, for some reason they choose otherwise.”The governor addressed his stance on vaccinations as his home state of Kentucky is in the midst of a controversy about students being banned from school for being unvaccinated.Click the screenshot below to read more about a Kentucky high schooler’s battle for religious freedom:Governor Bevin and his wife, Glenna, have nine children, four of whom are adopted.Despite the fact that most people alive today were naturally exposed to chickenpox as children, the establishment is pushing vaccination as a safer alternative while condemning those who choose not to.Addressing parents who opt-out of the chickenpox vaccine, Dr. Robert Jacobson, a Mayo Clinic pediatrician, said, “I would never recommend or advise it. It’s just dangerous.”Left-wing media outlets like Salon are criticizing the governor’s comments, saying he’s “setting a dangerous precedent.”According to the CDC website, “chickenpox can be serious and can lead to severe complications and death, even in healthy children.”Less than 100 people die from chickenpox every year in the United States, however, the number of vaccine-related deaths is unknown.What is known is that a secret federal vaccine court has paid billions of dollars to victims of vaccine injuries.Even Salon, the same leftist publication now pushing for mandated vaccinations, admitted just months ago that over 6,000 injury and death claims have been compensated since 1989.The vaccination debate is heating up and Governor Bevin’s stance against forced vaccinations is sure to infuriate authoritarians who wish for them to be made mandatory.Follow the author on Twitter: @Kelenmcbreen______________________________________________________________The Case Against Mandatory Vaccination
BY Peter T. Szymonikrepublished below in full unedited for informational, educational and research purposes:Public policy in our country and state today is being driven by many dangerous elements and forces. Of substantial concern are policies, agendas and legislation being driven by claims of crises, which do not exist and are unsupported by reality, fact or science. It is dangerous when these claims are driven by the politics of fear mongering, hate and division. This is especially concerning when specific groups of people are targeted and attacked to incite fear and to promote misguided and harmful policies.Our country’s system of checks and balances is being circumvented and ignored by those we have placed in positions of authority and accountability. Intelligent and rational debate have fallen victim to hysteria and the politics of misinformation and fear. It is precisely this kind of politics that is being used by legislators across the country to promote government mandated vaccination in response to a manufactured crisis—one based on dated or misleading information.To be clear, I am not anti-vax. I have worked in the pharma industry and now work in the healthcare insurance industry. My family came here from a former communist country. We understand well what happens when government is allowed to deny individual liberties and personal freedoms. We know quite well what happens when the state considers its interests to be more important than protecting the rights of its citizens.The scientific benefits of vaccination are not in dispute. However, concerns regarding vaccine injury, today’s vaccine schedule and our government’s much too close relationship with the vaccine industry—should also not be in dispute. When it is well documented, admitted and scientific fact that many children have been severely injured or even killed1 as a result of adverse vaccine reactions—then government has no right or authority of any kind to place parents in a situation where our government forces them to expose their children to admitted risk and risk they deem to be unacceptable.Our system of modern medicine only works because it was founded on the concept of doing no harm and importance of informed consent. A person has a fundamental and protected right to control what happens to their own bodies. Parents have a fundamental right to the care, custody and control of their children and their family’s medical care. Not the state.Once we hand over that control, where does it stop?The solution to the vaccine issue is not government mandates and more draconian government infringement of parental rights and decision-making.If our state and federal governments want people to vaccinate, the solution is better education and promoting informed consent. It would start promoting full disclosure. By addressing and responding to the valid concerns being expressed by concerned parents who are asking all of the right and legitimate questions. The answer is not by engaging in the politics of hate and fear. It is not found in labeling parents raising these issues as being “crazy,” “uninformed” or worse, to promote a political agenda.A further serious concern is that the vaccine issue has made the recent headlines in some states not due to any crisis or emergency of any kind. A few dozen cases of measles in Washington state or 1,200 parents opting not to vaccine, or to vaccinate on a limited schedule in Connecticut, is not a medical crisis or threat to the national health. It certainly does not justify sensationalist news media headlines designed to scare people using words like “Outbreak!”All of us should also be very concerned that some legislators are using this issue as a basis and justification to allow states to further infringe upon and deny parental rights and parental decision-making.A very dangerous combination indeed.
Note: This article was reprinted with the author’s permission.This article or commentary provides referenced information and perspective on a topic related to vaccine science, policy, law or ethics being discussed in public forums and by U.S. lawmakers. The websites of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) provide information and perspective of federal agencies responsible for vaccine research, development, regulation and policymaking.References:1 Health Resources & Services Administration. Data & Statistics. HRSA.gov.
