We needed a vaccine rights lawyer on our side…
In my past posts lamenting our lack of rights in this country to deny vaccines we believe to be harmful (for us or our children), some of us have said how much we'd love to have a vaccine rights attorney on our side, helping us to fight the fight. Well he has found us! Attorney Alan Phillips commented on one of these posts and then agreed to answer some questions for us here…
First, though, did you see these previous posts?
- How we came to our personal vaccination choices: Part 1: Vaccination safety issues and the 7 factors that led to our decisions. Part 2: Our 5-part plan for vaccinations and how do school exemptions work?
- Healthcare workers: how to refuse mandatory vaccines and not get fired. Still more posts on mandatory flu vaccinations. And another: 150 Employees Fired for Not Getting the Flu Shot. See all my flu shot related posts.
- Read about a chat I had with the nurse at our doctor’s office (about “mandatory” vaccinations). And here’s the follow-up story to that post. And one last update to the story with info on the school getting in on this, too, and what my doctor said when we sat down to discuss everything.
And you may want to check out this DVD: Vaccines: The Risks, The Benefits, The Choices
Q & A with Alan Phillips, vaccine rights lawyer:
>>>When my first child was born, a friend said another friend's child had been permanently disabled by a vaccine, so I might want to look into it before vaccinating my own child. I was stunned and had never heard of that. I began researching and never looked back. I was moved to go to law school, after being out of school 17 years, by this issue. I'm now the only attorney in the U.S. whose practice is focused on vaccine rights issues–exemptions, waivers, and legislative activism.
2. What are some of the more memorable cases you've worked on as a vaccine rights lawyer?
>>>I work with clients and attorneys around the U.S. in a consulting practice that involves over a dozen different vaccine exemption and waiver contexts–schools (public, private, military, college, college healthcare that require clinical work in local hospitals), military (members, families, civilian contractors), immigration (includes foreign adoptions), employment (concerns fed civil rights law–most state exemption laws apply only to students), vaccine custody disputes (where parents separate or divorce and disagree about vaxing the kids), foreign travel–each of these areas concern or involve different law, and laws vary from state to state with state law exemption and waiver matters. Most of my clients are successful, and that's most memorable, of course.
But the insight I've gotten into the medical, legal and political worlds has been most disturbing.
While I have great faith in humanity generally, there is extensive corruption in each of these arenas where health (among other areas) is concerned, and with vaccines in particular. E.g., state legislatures have been passing unconstitutional laws restricting access to exemptions and actually granting consent authority to children for vaccines (the latter is just plain bizarre); hospitals around the U.S. are requiring employees who don't want flu shots to get them to get or keep their jobs (it's disconcerting to see healthcare policy dictated to healthcare professionals against their will instead of being guided by their professional expertise!), most states have laws that remove routine vaccine exemptions if the state declares an emergency, doctors are increasingly refusing to treat any unvaccinated children regardless of the reason (violates parents' Constitutional rights in many cases), etc.
3. What do you see is the biggest obstacle in retaining and/or regaining parental rights to deny vaccines and/or an employee's rights to deny mandatory workplace vaccines?
>>>Vaccine policy is driven by a corrupt industry that controls the system. E.g., pharmaceutical companies get billions of criminal and civil fines every year, increasingly in recent years. Glaxo: $1 billion *criminal* fine in 2012; Pfiser: $1 billion *criminal* fine in 2009 (4th time they were caught since 2002 doing the same criminal behavior); criminal (and civil) fines in the $100's of millions are common. This is an industry that routinely engages in criminal behavior (but no one ever goes to jail, and it's profitable to do it, so they keep doing it). A lot of this is verifiable at the Justice Department's website. Anyway, this industry “partners” with government to control policy, lobbies for more vaccines and fewer exemption rights (with disturbing effectiveness), “buys” or otherwise persuades state and federal legislatures.
Look: The federal government subsidizes vaccines research and development ($billions/year); has passed laws making vax manufacturers immune from liability; state and federal governments mandate vaccines (increasingly for more and more people, and more and more vaccines for each person); and the Federal government compensates vaccine victims and their families. It's the ultimate dream to maximize profit a business could ever hope for, except that people are unnecessarily disabled and killed in the process. There are other means of addressing infectious disease concerns that work better, cost profoundly less, and don't injure and kill people.
Vaccine policy is not about health, it's about profit, and possibly population control.
In any event, vaccines introduce widespread chronic disease into the population, which produces a huge market for more pharmaceutical drugs. Pharmaceutical drugs focus on managing symptoms; if they actually healed, they'd be cutting off a market. Most of us wouldn't make decisions like this, but there are people who would and do, and some of them run pharmaceutical companies and occupy important decision-making positions in state and federal government.
4. Is there a way that groups, such as health care workers for example, could band together, with you at the helm, to fight the growing push toward mandatory workplace vaccines?
>>>I'm not sure that the “helm” is the place for me, but I have worked closely with legislative activists around the U.S. and am available to continue doing so as long as the system remains corrupt and I'm still breathing. While being informed is a critical first step, that alone does nothing. We have to organize and become legislatively active to oppose laws furthering the destructive pro-vaccine agenda while supporting freedom of choice. This is not a decision we have the luxury of taking lightly. Laws are changing as we speak; our rights are going away; and the industry and government have plans to vaccinate *all* of us.
If you're not confronted with a vaccine requirement right at this moment, you will be!
So, it's better to become active now to prevent ever being in that situation in the first place if at all possible. However, many of us are already in that situation. So, it's critical to learn what your rights are right now, so you can exercise them effectively; and then become legislatively active so you can expand your right to choose, and prevent that right from being taken away as is happening all over the country.
A healthcare worker client of mine reported that the system she worked for received over 1,000 exemptions, and the system allowed *4*.
This, and any other exemption situation where you have to state religious beliefs opposed to vaccines, are difficult arenas to manage on your own. On the one hand, anyone who is not an atheist can potentially qualify for a religious exemption (in the employment context, there's even a narrow category of beliefs one could hold as an atheist that are protected ‘religious' beliefs!), when it comes to writing a statement of beliefs, most people who do that on their own wander into one or more “legal pitfalls” that can cost them the exemption. The law in this area is just not consistent with most people's common sense approach. In the employment arena, a further complication is that the vast majority of hospitals (in my experience with over 150 healthcare workers in 26 states just this past fall and early winter) implement unlawful exemption policies that are overly restrictive–they reject qualifying exemption requests. So, having an attorney's help can be critical.
5. What can the average person do to FIGHT back on the invasion of their rights like this?
>>>To repeat, become legislatively active. If you also take steps to learn more about your rights, you'll understand better where we are right now, and what needs to change to fix that. With humble but great respect, anti-vaccine websites are not a good place for exemption advice. They mean well but they don't understand the law, and often have a mixture of accurate and inaccurate information, or make recommendations that can backfire. Some people have lost exemption rights by relying on them. So, get your information from an authoritative source–the state or local health department, your state's statutes and regulations from the web or your local library, or a knowledgeable attorney. My site has lots of free information, an e-book that goes into depth, and I'm willing to help individuals or groups with vaccine rights issues. Most of what I do is volunteer–radio shows, articles, and legislative activism.
A complete explanation of all of the important points would take many hours to document, and the issue is constantly evolving, so “complete” is constantly growing.
Meanwhile, I co-host 2 weekly radio shows and am a regular guest on two others, and am an intermittent guest from time to time on still others. Anyone can call in with questions, or email me and have their questions answered on the air (if I can get to it!):
1. The Know Your Rights Hour, Monday nights, 9 pm ET: https://www.blogtalkradio.com/
2. Vaccines and Your Rights in the U.S., Thursdays at 1pm ET: https://www.blogtalkradio.com/
Also: Here is documentation of my assertions in my articles: https://www.vaccinerights.com/
Contact vaccine rights lawyer, Alan Phillips here
He does consultations at a very reasonable rate!
Here's Alan's book: The Authoritative Guide to Vaccine Legal Exemptions.
6. One confirmation/clarifying question: How SPECIFICALLY should someone get involved with changing the laws?!!! Or is that something that is only known on a case by case basis, depending on the specific issue?
>>>The National Vaccine Information Center's Advocacy Portal is a website dedicated to vaccine legislative awareness and activism. I *highly* recommend that people go to that site and join: www.nvicadvocacy.org. It's free, enables participants to easily monitor vaccine legislation (pending bills) in their state and around the U.S. (it's an eye-opening experience to see the trends–pharmacists to give vaccines, children being allowed to consent to vaccines, more vaccines being required, etc.), and makes it very easy for people to participate in the legislative process, tells you who your representatives are and how to contact them, and lets you know when that's needed. It's a work in progress, but a brilliant project.
Beyond that, if someone wants to initiate a piece of legislation, they need to put together a concise, well documented/supported written concern, and then make an appointment with their representatives to sit down face-to-face to request their help (letters and emails get lost in the shuffle in my experience). There are people, including me, who can also provide support along the way. But at minimum, we should all be on the Portal so we know when there's a bill to support or object to in our state.
Alan, we are very grateful to you for your help, thank you!!!
If you have any additional questions for this wonderful vaccine rights lawyer, Alan said he'd try to answer in the comments, or also be sure to visit the links above.
More you might like:
- More posts like these about vaccine decisions
- Have you seen these charts?
Wendy Tico says
Kelly, please consider spreading the word about the fight against SB277 in CA that eliminates the personal and religious belief exemption for vaccines. There is referendum gathering signatures for the next 10 days. https://sb277referendum.com
Annie Mercy says
I have a perfectly healthy 8 week old daughter. In the hospital, i signed paperwork REFUSING the Hep B vaccine. The nurses gave it to her anyway during her 24 hour well-baby check up that they performed in the nursery. They said it was an accident. Does anyone know if I have any rights here? IDK what I even want to do, I’m mostly just grateful there are no adverse reactions, but it is just so wrong that my wishes for my 24 hour old baby were blatantly ignored and the hospital gets away with just an apology.
KitchenKop says
Wow Annie, you’re right, that is SO WRONG! I’ll forward your comment to Alan (vaccine rights attorney) in case he didn’t see it and we’ll see what he says.
Kelly
Alan Phillips, J.D. says
Parents have a Constitutional right to parent their children, which includes making medical decisions. The state can only intervene if there’s abuse or neglect. There’s no imminent risk of harm from getting a Hep B vaccines, so it sounds like the parents’ rights were violated. Possible actions range from a formal complaint to the state nursing board, and medical board with respect to the supervising doctor (there usually has to be one), to filing a lawsuit for violation of the Constitutional rights. There may be other state law rights depending on the state and state laws. But feedback of one kind or another may be warranted to prevent this from happening again, to help ensure that there is a protocol in place for non-vaxers. As to adverse events, they can show up seconds after a shot, or decades–there’s no way to know what the effects are, but if there is no obvious immediate effects, that’s a good thing, of course. But children who get the Hep B have a few times the rate of autism compared to those that don’t, so you have to pay attention to the child’s development from here on out…Alan Phillips, JD, http://www.vaccinerights.com
Nicole Platte says
Dear Alan,
I am an vaccine freedom activist in New York. I am also a homeschooling mother and have been a small-scale local produce farmer. For those in the latter two “minority” groups, there are excellent organizations one can join to be legally protected, namely HSLDA and FTCLDF (Farm-to-Consumer).
I’m thinking that those of us choosing not to vaccinate need our own such organization, especially those in situations where school or employers are attempting to exclude individuals for refusing vaccinations. I am thinking that such an organization, employing good attorneys, could really help move our cause forward: informed consent, safety for children, and ending vaccine coercion.
Can you comment on this idea to help us figure out where to begin in starting such an organization?
Thanks!
KitchenKop says
Nicole, this is a GREAT idea. I’ll make sure Alan sees your comment!
Kelly
Alan Phillips, JD says
There are dozens of organizations nationally concerned with vaccine rights–see this letter to the federal DHHS, Appendix A lists 58 such organizations reported to represent 5 million people, and these are not all of the organizations that support vaccine choice (https://icandecide.com/white-papers/ICAN-HHS-Notice.pdf). But the problem with legal protection is that I am literally the only attorney in the country with any real in-depth exemption expertise. I do exemptions and waivers in all of the many different exemption categories and with clients and attorneys nationally; no one else does anything anywhere near this. There are over 130 attorneys who do vaccine injury, which I don’t do; and while there are good attorneys everywhere, vaccine law is different from everything else, so even a good attorney may not be able to assist well with vaccine matters (I’ve seen many good attorneys employ the wrong legal analysis for lack of insight into vaccine issues specifically). However, I work with clients and attorneys nationally, so when people have vaccine legal concerns and want my input, I’m happy to assist.
I make these assertions after years of working with clients, attorneys, legislators and activists nationally, based on my experience. There are certainly attorneys out there who are smarter than me, but none with anywhere near the level of experience and insight with vaccine exemption and waiver issues specifically–and no one who works in all the areas I do: birth; daycare/school/college enrollment; employment; military; immigration; child custody disputes; international travel; and many subdivisions of these categories. So, the idea of an organization that networks attorneys fails in that there just aren’t “attorneys” out there with expertise in vaccine exemption law–I’m literally the only one with in-depth knowledge and experience, as I’m the only one who does what I do. There’s a fed govt list of 130 attorneys who do vax injury law, so no organization is needed for that, just pick one or more from the list to contact to discuss your injury question with.
There are some attorneys who work with exemptions in a particular area–e.g., some who assist with school exemptions, some employment law attorneys have helped healthcare workers, but there is a great advantage in working in all of the different exemption areas, as that has afforded me insights you can’t get from working part-time in one or very few exemption areas. It also enables me to offer a far better service to my clients for a lot less money.
There are good reasons I’m the only one doing what I do: 1) you can’t make a living at it, 2) you’ll ruin your local reputation, 3) you have to spend substantial amounts of time off the clock regularly and 4) you’ll make yourself a target. I’ve addressed all of these matters sufficiently for myself (so far, anyway), but few attorneys are willing to reduce their income and incur other significant inconveniences to serve clients, so I don’t anticipate having any real competition any time soon. 🙂 But I am compelled by the issue, so I keep doing what I’m doing…
Alan Phillips, JD, Vaccine Rights Attorney, http://www.vaccinerights.com
susan says
thank you! I am curious…my daughter worked in a basement of a hospital for 2 yes plus. had no in…refused shot even though asked to wear a mask and got fired. Collected unemployment…which they fought and she had to pay back. My son on the other hand is at a work program. Washing dishes at hospital…no pay…work program…guess what…no mention of those guys needing a shot…..hello…any way…everyone should worry about them selves…for those who feel it helps…if they have the vaccine…and its so important…the only one that should have woories are those of us who are against it! Thank you. If there is anything we can do legally would love to know..I can’t believe they can fire you. Then. Let my son volunteer..something’s wrong
Angie M. says
Alan represented us last year when our hospital denied our religious exemptions. He knows his stuff! We won last year after 3 months of arguing with them. Our hospital even changed the wording in their new policy due to Alans comments. We are still waiting on the results this year because you have to reapply every year. No body cares until it affects them directly. It is sad bc in the mean time, so many people are getting hurt. Thank goodness someone comes out ok…(the big Pharm)…(sarcastism!)
Manni says
If anyone sees this I would like your input. I know these are very old post.
I am nursing student in TX being cornered into taking the flu if I want to move on to clinicals. Though I mentioned religious exemption
Does any know what the law says for nursing students? Thanks
KitchenKop says
Manni, did you see this post?
https://kellythekitchenkop.com/healthcare-workers-how-to-refuse-mandatory-vaccines-and-not-get-fired/
Kelly
KitchenKop says
Alan, people over on this stream https://kellythekitchenkop.com/2012/02/healthcare-workers-how-to-refuse-mandatory-vaccines-and-not-get-fired.html are saying they’re being denied promotions/raises for not getting the flu vaccine – isn’t this blatant discrimination and illegal???
Would you mind going to that post and commenting??
Thank you!
Kelly
Alan Phillips, JD says
If an employee has religious objections to vaccines (doesn’t matter whether or not you belong to an organized religion, nor which one you belong to if you do), treating the employee differently because of those beliefs may be a violation of federal civil rights law. See http://www.vaccinerights.com for more information, or email me at [email protected].
joleigh says
Correspondence from our Employee Health RN states religious exemptions will be permitted, however, even with an exemption I will be required to wear a mask, which is fine w/ me. I will have to see if they have a form they prefer me to use, or what sort of documentation they’ll expect in order to avoid being denied a raise for the second year (not having claimed an exemption LAST year, I doubt I can reconcile it for this last year). I’m not sure if I can get a letter from my priest as the Catholic Church does NOT take a stance on vaccines. We may be able to approach it from the angle of our bodily rights.
Alan Phillips, JD says
Requiring involvement of a church official violates federal civil rights law. Unfortunately, most hospitals around the US are doing this. I’ve helped healthcare workers around the US to get exemptions despite not being able to meet their hospital’s policy by explaining to hospital administrators that their policies violate federal law. There is no general Constitutional right to decide what goes into your body (even though there *should* be!), the only way to legally refuse vaccines in the workplace that I know of are for qualifying medical or religious reasons (though according to the CDC, 2 states have state laws that may help–MD and ME). But don’t assume that your employer’s exemption policies are lawful, because in my experience with clients all over the US, they usually are not lawful. This is one reason why most healthcare workers don’t succeed on their own; getting help from a knowledgeable attorney is recommended.
Commenter via Facebook says
My daughter’s midwife is trying to get her to have a MMR booster because of the “epidemic.” However, my daughter did the research, talked it over with her father and me and decided to not have it.
Commenter via Facebook says
Kim Martineau please read the comments in the above article – the author (guest poster) replied directly to you there to answer your question.
Commenter via Facebook says
Mel Highland Booth – the author (guest poster) replied directly to you at the article above with more info. 🙂
Commenter via Facebook says
Cecilia Doman – please read the comments in the above article – the author (guest poster) replied directly to you there.
Commenter via Facebook says
God bless all children who are not protected from the diseases that killed or maimed so many of our older generations. God bless the technology that was developed through their loss and does protect my children and grandchildren.
Alan Phillips says
Yes, diseases were killers in the early 1900’s, but vaccines didn’t change that. 90-95% of infectious disease decline *preceded* vaccines, according to official data, and even medical school textbooks as a pediatrician recently stated in a public university presentation. The polio vaccine actually reversed a preexisting 5 year natural decline, and that was covered up by medical authorities. The disease was redefined to falsify the vaccine results. This comes from documented testimony to Congress in 1962 by Dr. Bernard Greenberg, a biostatistician at UNC who later become the Dean of the UNC School of Public Health. Other sources document this as well. Read the first 3 articles here for an introduction into the corruption underlying current vaccine policy and law: https://vaccinerights.com/articles.html Once you begin to understand that this topic is more complicated than simply asking what the “experts” and “authorities” say, you can begin to fully appreciate the complexities of the matter and join the awakening to what’s really going on and has been going on. Warning: You won’t like it, and will probably be very angry. We’ve all been lied to for decades. But don’t take my word for it; do your own research and come to you own conclusions. If they are informed conclusions, I’ll honor you and them whether or not you agree with my conclusions. All I ask is that we all have the right to do that–find out for ourselves, and make our own decisions accordingly. Given the extensive level of corruption in today’s world, that’s the only reasonable option.
Commenter via Facebook says
Did you read the article?
Commenter via Facebook says
why on earth would you not get you children vaccinated and run the risk of them getting some very serious illnesses and disease!!??
Alan Phillips says
Uh, because the vaccines can injure or kill your kids, and they don’t work. Even the CDC admits on its website that most outbreaks occur in vaccinated kids because vaccines cause an immune response in every child–5-15% according to them, although these are conservative figures (e.g., recent medical study says flu vaccines are < 60% effective, and that was a misrepresentation of the actual data that showed an "actual" protective increase of only 1.5%). Also, because there are more effective ways to prevent disease that cost less, work better, and don't come with a risk of injury or death–e.g., homeoprophyaxis. See this article for information about how the CDC knows that vaccines cause autism but keep lying about it–we now have proof of this: https://alignlife.com/articles/childhealth/study-showing-link-between-vaccines-and-autism-covered-up-by-cdc/
Commenter via Facebook says
Nobody can force you to do that….yet.
Commenter via Facebook says
https://www.vaclib.org/exemption.htm#statelist
Commenter via Facebook says
Mel, that is good to know about WV. We have been considering moving there! Maybe not now. In reguards to the question posted by Kelly The Kitchen Kop: We live in PA and I gave our pediatrician an signed and notorized (from what I understand, notorizing it makes the document hold up better in court if the the need came up) form. I was advised not to sign the one the Drs. office has. There is a website with one you can print out.
Commenter via Facebook says
They can’t require it if you don’t go to a conventional doctor!
Commenter via Facebook says
Hi – does anyone have any info on vaccine exemptions for public schools in NYC? I know here we can only claim religious exemption but I have no idea if public schools except them or not?
Alan Phillips says
Public schools in every state have to honor state exemptions. What is less clear is whether or not private and religious schools have to accept exemptions. The answer to this varies from state to state, it depends on the wording and context (chapter, title, etc.) of the exemption laws, and on the proper interpretation of the laws according to each state’s statutory construction rules. The best way to find out, most of the time, is probably to just call your local or state health department. Usually, you can get a good/clear answer there. If not, you may have to consult an attorney. But you could also try a law school reference librarian!
Commenter via Facebook says
two* sorry for all the typos:)
Commenter via Facebook says
state*
Commenter via Facebook says
Only one star in the union in which not vaccinating is a misdemeanor. That is WV. There are to states in which you cannot get either a philosophical and/or religious exemption to send your unvaccinated children to school and that is MS and WV. You DO not have to vaccinate. I am in WV, I still am not vaccinating.
Alan Phillips says
My understanding is that you can escape vaccines in WV if you homeschool, but that’s not true everywhere. Here in NC, homeschoolers still have to vaccinate or exercise an exemption. It varies, like many things, from state to state.
Commenter via Facebook says
No one can make you here in IL, there is a religious letter you can obtain to not have them done. Some practices will not treat you if you do not , then it is time to find people that are parent friendly to not have vaccines done. IE I am a La Leche Leader and there are groups in PA and many leaders are savvy to those kind of docs FYI
Commenter via Facebook says
“HAV infection produces a self-limited disease that does not result in chronic infection or chronic liver disease.” Why shoot your kid up with chemicals to avoid something that is acute and without long-term effects? It’s like a bad case of the flu. Once you get it, you have lifetime immunity as well, unlike with vaccines. This shot is now recommended in MI also, but I view it like the chicken pox vaccine: totally unnecessary.
Alan Phillips says
Vaccines do kill and injure people. The VICP website (fed govt) lists payout amounts for disability and death for each vaccine and each of the approx. 25 years the program have been in existence. The problem is, the FDA, CDC and AAPS have all estimated that 90-99% of vaccine adverse events never get reported. So, we have no data available from which to determine (calculate) whether or not there’s a net benefit (assuming vaccines even work as claimed, which is highly questionable given the serious problems in the medical publishing industry). For this reason alone, no one should ever be required to get a vaccine.
Commenter via Facebook says
So that makes it ok Valerie? Because it is “old” new tissue? Smh
Commenter via Facebook says
The fetal tissue is from 1961. It has been cultured ever since and no new tissue has been used.
Commenter via Facebook says
Hep A is one the newer recommended add ons to the schedule, but not required. Regardless, no vaccine is required by doctors’ offices, the “required” part only comes in to play for public school enrollment; at which point you would be required to file an exemption for turning down the normal required school vaccines.
We have a very low incidence of Hep A infections in this country, and it is a mild, non-chronic infection. The big concern for Hep A infection is traveling abroad to places where it is endemic and eating/drinking something contaminated.
Excuse the wiki link, but it had everything under one source so you can use it as a jumping off point…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepatitis_A
Alan Phillips says
There are 250 vaccines either in clinical trials or awaiting FDA approval. There will *always* be another vaccine, and always another person to get one. The fed govt subsidizes vaccine development; state and fed govts buy vaccines; the fed govt has removed liability from vaccine makers for the death and disability their products cause, state and fed govts mandate vaccines, and the fed govt pays compensates the small % of vaccine deaths and disabilities that manage to find their way through the compensation program successfully. It’s the world’s biggest racket. As long as the incestuous relationship between govt and industry continues, we’ll keeping seeing more and more vaccines being required of more and more people, while our right to make an informed choice continues to be diminished more and more as has been and continues to occur in state legislatures throughout the country. See, e.g., http://www.nvicadvocacy.org
Commenter via Facebook says
And I believe the vaccine is one made with fetal tissue. One of the main reasons I have issues with vaccines.
Commenter via Facebook says
in fact…here: https://community.babycenter.com/post/a30859003/new_list_of_vaccine_friendly_doctors_state_by_state
Commenter via Facebook says
“mandatory” is reason to FIRE, as in TERMINATE that Dr. using fear and lies should NEVER be tolerated or taken lightly. After establishing a relationship w/ a Ped w/ my 2nd son (as i learned the hard way with the first) my boy is now 5, has seen the Dr. one time for illness. ONE TIME. I would highly encourage you to get on a serious MISSION to find and establish relationship (just start the damn chart) w/ a Dr. (doesn’t have to be a Ped) that is respectful and integrative. They generally don’t advertise, so find the local crunchy moms and find Dr.’s in your State that will shut the pie hole on the vaccine topic.
Alan Phillips says
Great advice, can be hard to do, though. Some people say they’ve called all over their area and can’t find a doc that will see their non-vaxed child. However, when private docs refuse to see a child whose parents are exercising a religious exemption, they may be violating the parents’ Constitutional rights–even if it’s a private practice physician. We have to be vigilant in this arena–the law is rolled over frequently. States are passing restrictions on exemptions that violate the Constitution–states are allowing children to consent to vaccines without parental knowledge and consent (blatantly unconstitutional!). This will go on unless/until enough of us stand up and say NO!
Commenter via Facebook says
anyone know about canada?
Alan Phillips says
I don’t believe vaccines are required there, it’s against their Constitution, if I understand correctly. But don’t hold me to that, it’s just what I’ve heard. Vaccines are not required in England or Australia, either–at least not yet. Efforts are underway to mandate them in Australia, and pressure is up everywhere to require more and more people to get more and more vaccines. Here in the US, we give 2x as many vaccines as the average of 30 other western nations–and we have a **3rd world** infant mortality rate. Research has shown that the more vaccines a country requires, the higher that country’s infant mortality rate. Disturbing…
Commenter via Facebook says
https://www.vaclib.org/exemption.htm
Alan Phillips says
Be careful of anti-vax websites where exemption and waiver rights and procedures are concerned. In my experience, most of them have a mixture of accurate and inaccurate information, and while some have relied on the and successfully exercised an exemption, others have lost exemption rights for relying on them. They mean well, and I certainly mean no disrespect, but the bottom line is that if you’re dealing with an important legal issue, you should consult a knowledgeable attorney–if you want to truly understand your rights and maximize your chances for success. Law is more complicated than most people realize. Incomplete information can cause more harm than good. For example, some hospital systems have bragged that they allowed only a few exemptions out of thousands of applications–doing this on your own has a very low chance of success. What I’ve discovered in that arena is that most hospital exemption policies violate federal law. Will they hear that from an employee? Not likely, but they usually will hear it from an attorney.
Commenter via Facebook says
Kelly the Kitchen Kop thank you for posting that article!!! Very scary stuff to think that someone could literally force this stuff on us:( I’m glad to have a few resources just in case.
Commenter via Facebook says
I’m not going to comment on the vaccinate/no vaccinate debate but I can tell you from PERSONAL experience that having Hep A is one of the WORST things I have ever experienced. I nearly died. And felt like I wanted to. Unless there is a really really strong argument against the Hep A vaccine, I would suggest the parent think about that during the decision process. It is a horrible thing to have, and fairly common to contract.
Commenter via Facebook says
“He” being our doctor. Took a bit to find someone.
Commenter via Facebook says
We live in PA & you must claim religious exemption. We have encountered minor resistance. I’d seek a new doctor that is willing to discuss situations with you. He was very open to our decision making and even in disagreement did not force us a particular direction.
leigh says
After asking a fellow parent yesterday if she’d had any luck at our private school w/ vaccine exemptions, it’s clear to me that this has been tried and failed by many before. Our priest, who is very good and I trust very much, basically told this other parent that if you feel so strongly about vaccinations to submit for an exemption, then you need to just home-school. It’s my understanding that those orders come down from the bishop/diocese.
I got Sally Fallon’s new baby book and I think my best route at this point is to start my school-aged kids on FCLO (we’ve never had this before) prior to our summer-long catch-up vaccine regimen. In order to get them all caught up by enrollment, the furthest I can space them out is 4 weeks.
I’m not as worried about these guys (or even my 3yo) at this point, but we’re expecting again. I’d LOVE to be able to go by Sally’s guidelines of no vaccines till the age of 2, but I’m not sure how this will go in terms of getting an exemption form from my doc for our new sitter we’re starting or if she’ll even accept it.
I just have to accept that I’m not going to be a pioneer on this front, none of the like-minded parents I’ve spoken with have been willing to really engage in a conversation with me and neither will my hubs (who is decidedly NOT on board). I just have to do my best and trust in the Lord that things will go as smoothly for the new little it has for my other 3, none of whom have had any obvious reactions to any of their vaccines (all taken on schedule).
Alan Phillips, JD says
Whether or not private and religious schools have to accept a religious exemption depends on the specific wording of each state’s laws. Some states do, some don’t–it’s not up to the school or church to make that determination. However, many private and religious schools *think* that because they’re private, they can do what they want. So, if a school won’t accept the exemption, call the local health dept and ask if private and religious schools have to accept the exemption; and if they say ‘yes’, ask if they would call or write a letter to the school, or to you to take to the school. If the health dept is unsure or can’t get you a clear answer, consult an attorney if need be. Private schools that do accept exemptions sometimes think they can decide which exemptions qualify and which don’t, but again, that’s a legal matter–up to the wording of the law–and not up to the school.
Jen says
We have the the Homeschool Legal Defense Association and the Farm to Consumer Defense Fund both of which were founded by attornies.
My hope is that we the Vaccine Legal Defense Association in the future.
Alan Phillips says
Amen!
Michelle L. says
Thank you for the suggestions! Shouldn’t this be easy, living in a state with philosophical exemptions? Oh, wait. That’s probably why they’re trying to make it hard ;-), to punish us us.
Alan Phillips says
In states with philosophical exemptions, I still recommend exercising a religious exemption, or objecting on religious grounds, if you qualify (doesn’t require membership in an organized religion, doesn’t matter what church you belong to if you do belong to one). Religious exemptions come with federal Constitutional, First Amendment rights, which is a higher legal right than state law rights. Philosophical exemptions don’t have that. Also, religious exemptions are more portable in that more states have them (48) than philosophical exemptions (around 20).
Michelle L. says
In 2010, the health dept. in Idaho passed an administrative rule requiring that all exempting parents fills out a form that tries to guilt and scare them out of their decision. The form is misleading and downright inflammatory. Can they make me sign this? Could I alter some of it before signing? Also, they ask me to state my reason for exempting, which I’m really uncomfortable with. Finally, I exempt for both religious and philosophical reasons. The form only allows you to claim religious exemption if you belong to a “recognized” and “organized” religion “that has doctrine opposing immunization.” But our state statute doesn’t require this. Can they do this? I would appreciate any clarification you can offer on Idaho’s form. Thanks!
Alan Phillips, JD says
I don’t give legal advice over the Internet, but in general reply, states cannot lawfully require that you be a member of an organized religion. Courts in at least 5 states have held such laws to be unconstitutional. So, if your state has such a requirement, it is arguably unenforceable, but you may need an attorney to help you make that case, since any law “on the books” is legally enforceable. That is, a law isn’t officially unconstitutional unless and until a court says it is. So, laws like this leave us in a state of confusion. I have helped people in some states with such laws exercise exemptions due to the clear Constitutional violation, but such outcomes can’t be guaranteed. The law should be challenged in court or changed by the legislature. However, some states that have a religious organization requirement don’t include that on the health department form; SC recently changed their form because of this. So, see if your state has a form, and if so, whether or not the form for exercising the exemption requires you to state your religion. Meanwhile, consider contacting your state representatives to fix the law. I can help by providing the formal legal argument with citations to cases in other states that overturned similar laws.
Commenter via Facebook says
Very good info!
Commenter via Facebook says
too bad there’s little protection against US/Gate’s & friends eugenics program in India (& Africa). https://gaia-health.com/gaia-blog/2013-03-28/paralysis-haunts-polio-free-india/ • https://2012thebigpicture.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/48000-children-in-india-paralysed-by-bill-gates-polio-vaccine/
Teri Gelseth says
I could say a whole lot more but I won’t. Do please excuse any spelling errors I felt very strongly about replying to this and I’m very grateful for all the work this site and this attorney have done. (I am responding from my phone and it is difficult to make corrections)
Teri Gelseth says
My big gripes are pharm, ag and the fed ed.
I’m excited to hear about this portal it’s a major major issue that sheeple simply overlook! We have been very conditioned.
My children were recently taken into custody by the state of Washington and 1 of the reasons cited was lack of well child checks and certain vaccinations even though we have a doctor’s signed permanant approved exception for allergies et cetera.
My son has an iep to help him cope with some emotional and behavioral hurdles that he is experiencing at school… and only at school for the most part. His counselor was on vacation and he was only able to see her once in the month of March and had a difficult time. Well I as a parent understood this going into the month of March and also talked to appropriate persons at school, the state believes that my sons decline during the last 2 weeks of March was due to negligence set and Mel treatment at home and have taken my children into custody
Please get educated and stand up for your rights and helped educate others. Be wary this is happening. this is real.
Dawn Baggett says
Terri; I am so sorry this has happened to you and your children! I pray it will be resolved soon, with them safe at home. Please get yourself a good attorney as well. Perhaps he/she could confer with Mr. Phillips if needed?
Stanley Fishman says
Kelly, Thank you for posting this very informative interview.
Alan Phillips, you have my admiration. it is so refreshing to see an attorney who is using his skill to help people and make the world better.
All blessings to you both.
Jeanne @soultravelers3 says
Thanks so much for posting this and thanks to Attorney Alan Phillips for his important work and perspective!
We’ve been traveling the world non-stop as a family for the last 7 1/2 years ( to 45 countries on 5 continents on $23/day pp) to educate our child ( who has NEVER had a vaccine or antibiotic etc and we parents had very minimal in childhood ( in the 50’s) and none sense.
We mostly homeschool, but we are monolingual parents raising a trilingual child ( Mandarin, Spanish, English) so we have dipped into local foreign schools for short times for language immersion ( China, Spain, Malaysia).
Even though they often do vaccines right at the school to all the kids, we haven’t had ANY problem refusing. Nor have we ever had any problems traveling ( including in the USA or at California schools before we left) or even asked about it any where.
Funny ,but the only breakouts that we have been exposed to around the world, it is always the vaccinated kids who seem to get the disease.
I have a friend in Oz who is suffering and her young teen son is suffering with severe Chronic Fatigue etc..the EPIGENETIC cause.. traced back to a smallpox vaccine given to her mother…affecting all 3 generations. ( Not to mention the dear friend in the USA whose perfect daughter got lifetime severe autism after her shots as a toddler).
Thanks for keeping people informed about their rights and how to protect them.