Rion Shellooe

Shellooe 1

Mr. Bradley
U.S. Government
26, October 2016

Vaccination Choice Act

The topic of mandatory vaccinations has been a large one in the United States
for many years. The topic divides not only parents and everyday individuals, but those
in the medical industry as well. Doctors have not come to a consensus on the complete
safety of vaccinations yet in most states the only way to get out of them is for a religious
or medical reason. Some people who live in states such as California cannot even
receive religious exemption because the lawmakers of the state dont see that as a
viable reason to opt out of vaccination. Current state laws trample upon peoples
freedoms and their right to choose what they want to put into their bodies, and this
needs to be stopped immediately. Certain followings and religions dont believe in
putting any chemical or unnatural substance whatsoever into the body, but mandatory
vaccination makes no room for that belief. Not only are there religious reasons why
someone would not want themself or their child to be vaccinated, but there are
ingredients that are toxic to the human body found in them as well. United States law
should allow parents to opt out of vaccinations on behalf of their children in order to
allow people to protect themselves from negative allergic reactions, protect the rights of
citizens, and prevent vaccination injury due to toxic chemicals found in vaccines.

Shellooe 2

Technically in all states, children and adults have exemption from vaccinations
for medical purposes. However, some young infants are given several vaccinations
before anyone could know how they might react to substances found in the vaccine.
Every year there are thousands of infants, children, teens, and adults who have a harsh
allergic reaction to chemicals and substances found in the makeup of vaccines (Jones).
Many vaccines come from egg whites, gelatins, antibiotics, and many other things that
infants are commonly allergic to. So that being said, while medical exemption is
accepted, it does not always serve its purpose as it is difficult to know if a child or infant
will have an allergic reaction to these substances. There is a large range of side effects
and allergic reactions due to a vaccination including but not limited to rashes, soreness,
and pneumonia, and low blood pressure (Wolff). Some of these side effects can be
quite dangerous and life-threatening, so therefore a parent who doesnt want to risk
their childs health with a possible negative side effect, they shouldnt be forced to by a
government mandate. While families are able to get exemptions from vaccination, it is
very hard in most states and a long process especially when enrolling a child in the
public school system. For enrollment in a public school there is an even larger list of
required vaccinations for a child to have and the list added whooping to that list in 2014.
That particular vaccination caused seizures due to allergens found in the makeup of the
injection. Short term side effects of vaccinations can be dangerous and difficult to deal
with, but in some cases even more important are contradictions with peoples beliefs.
So many reasons point to why vaccination should not be required for citizens of
this nation but one reason is found explicitly in the Bill of Rights. In the first amendment

Shellooe 3

to the Constitution it states that people in the United States will have freedoms of
expression which includes freedom of religion. Religion has always been highly valued
in America and the founding fathers themselves built this nation on the backbone of
Christianity. Now while Christianity says nothing about vaccination being wrong, there
are other religions and followings that do not allow for anything unnatural at all to be put
into the body which would include chemicals (Institute for Vaccine Safety). Religion in
taken very seriously and state legislation does its best not to trample upon the religious
beliefs of citizens but there are still two states including California that do not allow
exemption for religious purposes. Two states does not sound very outstanding but if one
looked at the process and paperwork required to get this exemption they would be
astounded. It is not easy to get a religious exemption at all in any state (Institute for
Vaccine Safety). Not only do some religions not allow for putting things into the body,
they also do not allow their babies to be touched if they are stillborn or aborted. Many
aborted babies have fluids removed from them in order to make vaccines and some
religious affiliations do not allow for that but without the the proper process beforehand
the doctors can do whatever they want. This process would also not be approved by
many for philosophical reasons (Anaphylaxis). Taxpaying citizens in this nation should
not be forced in any way to have their children or themselves vaccinated especially if
they have a philosophical or religious reason to be opposed to it. Along with allergic
reactions and conflictions with religion, vaccinations can have toxic material that can
have lasting damage on a developing person.

Shellooe 4

Something that parents and individuals in general do not know is that there is a
multitude of toxic chemicals found in vaccines. Some of these include thimerosal,
formaldehyde, phenol, and aluminum. These chemicals are found in vaccines in very
small dosages, but research suggests that in chicken pox, and polio vaccines the levels
of aluminum are not safe for infants and toddlers (Hadley). There is great debate as to
whether aluminum has an affect on development at all or could manifest itself later in
life but there is a lot of research that has been done regarding thimerosal and mercury
having an affect on development. Mercury is not organic and traces of it are found in
tissues of the body for the rest of a persons life if ingested or in the case of
vaccinations, injected. If a high enough level of mercury is put into an infants body the
child could develop forms of thyroid disease or even autism (Kirby). Its sad to think that
something done to you at such a young age and as simple as a vaccination could lead
to developmental disorders and health problems further down the road. The substances
found in many of these vaccines are proven by the FDA to be in too high of an
abundance for such a small life weighing under 20 pounds. While it should be obvious
to most people that citizens should have the right to choose vaccination or not there are
some who still believe it should be government mandate to be vaccinated.
Since the very first vaccine that was created in 1796 vaccination has been saving
lives and all but eradicating diseases like small pox, polio, measles, and many more. In
this age we dont even need to vaccinate for things like small pox anymore because of
herd immunity which is the concept that when the majority of a population has immunity
to that disease that it wont come to try and host in that herd or group (VAERS). The

Shellooe 5

main argument to make vaccinations mandatory is to help maintain the herd immunity
and to keep infants safe as they are most prone to getting sick in the first two years of
life. However, there are statistics that show that ever since high levels of mercury were
put into vaccinations the number of children with autism has risen significantly (Vaccine
Injury Table). Most parents want to vaccinate their children and it is only a small portion
or parents who would choose to opt out. The path to opting out of all vaccinations for
whatever reason must be made for the people.
A parent should never have to worry about their child having a vaccination injury
or suffering from autism or Alzheimers disease later in life because they werent
allowed to choose to vaccinate their child or not. It is an individuals own decision what
they want to put into their own body and the government should create a way for people
to choose no matter what the reason may be. Even just a few deaths and a few injuries
is enough to suggest that people should have the right to choose vaccinations or not. It
is not fair that states do not agree on vaccination laws and that in some, religious
preference is not even taken into account. We must form new laws requiring states to
allow a pathway to opt out of vaccination, because that is justice.

Shellooe 6

Works Cited
Anaphylaxis. University of Maryland Medical Center. N.p. 11 May 2014. Web. 16 Oct.
2016
Hadley, Andreas. Vaccine Nation: Poisoning the Population. N.p.: Ener-Chi Wellness
Center, 2011. Web 18, Oct. 2016
Institute for Vaccine Safety - Religion and Vaccines - Religion and Vaccines. Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School. N.d. Web. 20, Oct. 2016
Jones, Kenneth. Formaldehyde and Cancer Risk. n.d. Web 13 Oct. 2016
Kirby, David. Evidence of Harm: Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic. New
York: Griffin, 2006. Print
Vaccine Injury Table Vaccine Injury Table. U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, n.d. Web 20 Oct. 2016
VAERS - Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. VAERS Data N.P., n.d. Web 18,
Oct. 2016
Wolff, Jason. Thimerosal and Vaccines. 28, Aug. 2015 Web. 20, Oct. 2016

Shellooe 7