from: http://mercola.com/2000/nov/19/vaccine_mandate_opposition.htm
Doctor's Group Opposes Vaccine Mandates The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a leading national physician organization, is calling for a moratorium on all government mandated vaccines and has passed a resolution to that end at their 57th Annual Meeting in St. Louis recently. The resolution calling for an end to mandatory childhood vaccines passed without a single "no" vote. A copy of their Resolution is provided below. "Our children face the possibility of death or serious long-term adverse effects from mandated vaccines that aren't necessary or that have very limited benefits," said Jane M. Orient, MD, AAPS Executive Director. "This is not a vote against vaccines," said Dr. Orient. "This resolution only attempts to halt blanket vaccine mandates by government agencies and school districts that give no consideration for the rights of the parents or the individual medical condition of the child." Most states in the US have mandatory vaccine policies, with only a small number of states allowing parents to claim a philosophical exemption from the shots. Many children are required to have 22 shots before first grade and this number is likely to increase as more vaccines are developed and mandated. AAPS also notes that, as a condition for school attendance, many school districts require vaccination for diseases such as hepatitis B, which is primarily an adult disease, and is usually spread by multiple sex partners, drug abuse or an occupation with exposure to blood. In addition, children under the age of 14 are three times more likely to suffer adverse effects, including death, following the hepatitis b vaccine than to catch the disease itself. Just last week, students in Utica, New York were sent home from school, and told they could not return until they had received their hep B vaccinations. Parents who refused to cooperate were threatened by Child Protective Services with possible seizure of their children based on "education neglect." Dr. Orient was good enough to give some comments to The Optimal Wellness Center on the vaccination mandate issue recently. Concerning the fact most other medical groups won't follow in AAPS's footsteps and also oppose these vaccine mandates, Dr. Orient thinks that this may be largely due to conflicts of interest. Many people looking into the vaccine issue, question why the American Civil Liberties (ACLU), a group which champions the individual's civil liberties above all, does not take up the cause of parents being forced to vaccinate their children against their will. However, for some reason they will not touch this issue. "It does seem to me that the ACLU has a rather restricted range of interests, many of them focused on undermining religion," says Dr. Orient. Concerning the current Vaccine Adverse Effect Reporting System (VAERS) Dr. Orient states "Follow-up on adverse reactions is very poor. Underreporting is rampant, and we can only estimate how bad it is. There should be user-friendly public access to the data (no patient identifiers, of course)." "It's obscene to threaten to seize a child just because his parents refuse medical treatment that is obviously unnecessary and perhaps even dangerous," said Dr. Orient. "AAPS believes that parents, with the advice of their doctors, should make decisions about their children's medical care -- not government bureaucrats. This Resolution affirms that position." Meeting of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) Annual Meeting - October 25 - 28, 2000, St. Louis, MO ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- AAPS RESOLUTION CONCERNING MANDATORY VACCINES "Ethical Medicine" AAPS Annual Meeting October 25 - 28, 2000 St. Louis, MO WHEREAS: The statement of Patients' Freedoms adopted by the Assembly at the 47th annual meeting of AAPS in 1990 provides that "Patients have the freedom ... to refuse medical treatment even if it is recommended by their physician and to be informed about their medical condition, the risks and benefits of treatment, and appropriate alternatives"; and WHEREAS: There are increasing numbers of mandatory childhood vaccines, to which children are often subjected without meaningful informed consent, including information about potential adverse side effects; and WHEREAS: Parents who exercise their freedom to refuse one or more vaccines may be subjected to penalties ranging from deprivation of the right to enroll their child in school, to threats of removing the child from parental custody and forcible vaccination; and WHEREAS: Safety testing of many vaccines is limited and the data are unavailable for independent scrutiny, so that mass vaccination is equivalent to human experimentation and subject to the Nuremberg Code, which requires voluntary informed consent; and WHEREAS: The process of approving and "recommending" vaccines is tainted with conflicts of interest; BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED: That AAPS calls for a moratorium on vaccine mandates and for physicians to insist upon truly informed consent for the use of vaccines. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT: Many do not realize that the AAPS nearly single handedly overturned the Hillary Clinton initiative for socialized medicine in this country. Dr. Orient, who heads the organization, is one incredible woman. I am glad that AAPS has taken this stand on immunizations. I am not a member of many organizations, but I am a member of AAPS. Whether you are a physician or just someone who is interested in their work, I would encourage you to join them as they are an incredible organization to counteract some of the evil forces that are present in so many areas of our government and many of the medical societies. Annual membership costs vary from being completely free for medical students, $95 for non-physicians, and around $300 for physicians. You can also see the AAPS website (www.aapsonline.org) or call their 24-hour message line at (800) 419-4777 for more vaccine or membership information. Related Articles: Chicago Tribune Opposes Chickenpox Vaccine Mandate Shoot First and Ask Questions Later The Vaccine Machine Is It A Follow-The-Money Operation? Congressional Vaccine Testimony -- The silver-list is a moderated forum for discussion of colloidal silver. To join or quit silver-list or silver-digest send an e-mail message to: [email protected] -or- [email protected] with the word subscribe or unsubscribe in the SUBJECT line. To post, address your message to: [email protected] Silver-list archive: http://escribe.com/health/thesilverlist/index.html List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]>
