On January 18th the 2012 Kansas legislative session will include another opportunity for Kansans for Vaccine Rights (KVR) to introduce the conscientious exemption option through State-Mandated Vaccinations HB 2094. Members of KVR have been working almost two years to unify the voice of concerned parents throughout Kansas to protect parental rights, informed consent and freedom of conscience in health care decisions based on safety, moral and philosophical beliefs.
Last year KVR’s initial attempt to introduce the conscientious exemption into the Kansas legislature didn’t carry much weight, but this year may be a different story. Now with almost 500 signatures strong supporting their petition and rapidly growing, KVR is becoming a powerful platform for parents who believe they should have the right to exempt their children from one or more or all state vaccination mandates required for attending Kansas schools.
Health agencies present persuasive arguments to strongly encourage mass vaccinations. But there is a growing number of educated parents who are not convinced, and for good reasons. In spite of sincere assurances by health officials regarding vaccine safety, there is an unprecedented epidemic of chronic illnesses and disabilities hitting U.S. children. As a result, parents are becoming more proactive in their children’s health care decisions and are questioning the science behind medical and government health agency recommendations rampant with conflicts of interest.
Although KVR emphasizes parental rights with respect to vaccinations, it is important to remember that KVR is NOT an anti-vaccination organization. KVR was initiated with the purpose for providing parents the right to fulfill their parental responsibility for their children’s health care. Vaccination mandates abrogates this parental responsibility and at the same time exempts related medical, pharmaceutical and government health entities from liability when adverse events result in serious injury, permanent disability or even death.
Presently, the state of Kansas allows for only two exemption options for parents, but these do not satisfy the needs of many parents.
The first option is the medical exemption. This requires an annual written statement signed by a licensed physician stating that tests or vaccinations would seriously endanger the life or health of the child. The first issue is that it is often impossible to know if a vaccine will seriously endanger your child’s life until after the fact. The other issue is the difficulty getting a medical physician to sign off on the exemption. The main reason for this is medical physicians are not trained to recognize vaccine adverse events and injuries, and many believe vaccines carry minimal risks. But there are countless testimonies from parents who know, without a doubt, that their child experienced an adverse reaction or regressive behavior within minutes to hours and sometimes days after being vaccinated, yet the tending physician minimized or ignored the parent’s concern. With the next vaccination series the child experiences another, often more serious, reaction that pushes the child over the edge into a developmental disorder, chronic illness or worse — severe neurologic regression. It happens, and it is not that rare.
The second option is the religious exemption. The religious exemption requires a written statement signed by one parent or guardian that the child adheres to a religious denomination whose teachings are opposed to such tests or inoculations. The religious exemption as it is presently worded in the Kansas Statute is actually a misnomer. This more accurately describes a religion exemption. This applies to religious denominations whose fundamental teachings, traditions or regulations oppose elements of vaccinations or medical care in general. However, this exemption actually excludes the majority of religious denominations including biblically-based Christians.
Neither the medical or religious exemptions address the parental responsibility, moral or freedom of choice issues. The present religious exemption as it stands does not provide freedom to exercise personal spiritual beliefs and practices for all individuals equally, which is a form of religious discrimination. This is why passing the conscientious exemption is so important
All 50 states offer both the medical and religious exemptions. Conscientious exemption is already offered in nineteen states representing 48% of the U.S. population. To this day there has not been any direct correlation reported between exemption rates and disease rates.
If you value freedom of choice in health care decisions for your children in Kansas go to www.gopetition.com/petition/42105.html and sign the petition to show your support for the conscientious exemption option in State-Mandated Vaccinations HB 2094. Those from out-of-state may also sign the petition. Although Kansas legislators will consider only those residents in Kansas, it sends a message to other states who will be watching.
You can visit KVR’s website at www.kansansforvaccinerights.com or join them on Facebook for regular updates at https:/www.facebook.com/kansansforvaccinerights.
It is important for Kansans to act quickly by contacting their respective State representatives. Tell them you want to protect parental rights, informed consent and freedom of conscience and to support the conscientious exemption in State-Mandated Vaccination HB 2094. Become a member of KVR. Even more, show our representatives how important this legislation is by attending the hearing. Numbers ARE important! The hearing will be held in the Docking State Office building, 915 SW Harrison (10th & Harrison), Topeka, Kansas in Room # 784 at 1:30 p.m.
Protecting your freedom of choice in your children’s health care decisions depends on you.
© Dr. Stephen C. L’Hommedieu
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Originally published on https://www.renewamerica.com/columns/lhommedieu/120104
January 4, 2012