Vaccinations – Wrapping It Up

With this article we hope to wrap up this series on vaccinations. In this series, I tried to show that while vaccines are effective, the development and production of some are based on immoral practices. We also considered the real risks of complications from vaccines. Finally, we introduced the idea that for a number of vaccines, the benefit is primarily for the society, then secondarily for the individual. This is why, for example, the medical community is vaccinating millions of children for polio, when there were only 22 cases worldwide in 2017. 

This chart shows a summary of the major points we went over:

Before trying to decide how it would be best for Christians to approach this issue, we should also consider these verses:

• But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. -1 Timothy 5:8 

• And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s. And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him. -Mark 12:1317 

So, does the vaccination of children, belong to Caesar’s turf, or is it God’s domain? Certainly, the state sees itself as having a role, yet most of us believe that the care of our children’s physical needs is our God-given role. 

Here’s the “catch” (v.13); the state sees the welfare of children as being part of its turf, however, there is a recognition that parents almost always make the best decisions for their children. As such, almost all states have made “carve out” exceptions to laws requiring vaccinations – those who are religiously opposed (and for some states, those who have philosophical objections) may be excused from receiving the injections. In the United Sates, there are only three exceptions to this. Mississippi and West Virginia do not allow religious or philosophical exemptions, with the only permissible exemption in these states being that of a genuine medical reason. In 2016, California became the third state to not give allowance for any exemptions.

What are the penalties? In general, state laws exclude children (that have not been vaccinated) from public grade schools and high schools. The parents are also held to account if the child is truant (absent) because of this. (Furthermore, some of us have children who want to work in the medical field, yet most of those schools require certain vaccines, in which there are very few “work arounds.”) Well, our children go to our church’s Christian day school, so we’re OK, right? In those three states, the answer is “No”. The laws apply to both public and private schools. Do these laws cover homeschools? SO FAR, they do not apply to home schools.    

Those of you who are breathing a sigh of relief, because you do not live in those states, and can use religious exemptions, consider this. Many state laws are written with the wording that an exemption is allowed only if receiving a vaccine violates a specific religious “tenet.” For example, Jehovah Witnesses have a widely recognized and long-held practice (at least historically) of rejecting vaccines. There have been a number of court cases in which religious exemptions to vaccines have been rejected because the individual family, not the church, objects to vaccines. If the family objections have been backed up by an official, documented church tenet, a court challenge to those claims would have been less likely.

There is a website where people can check out all the vaccine laws in all the states. It can be found at this link: 

https://www.nvic.org/Vaccine-Laws/state-vaccine-requirements.aspx

Below is a list of recent changes or current status of various states:

California

• In California Personal Belief Exemptions were phased out, starting in 1/1/16. They did allow religious exemptions for homeschool, but not private schools (Christian Day Schools)  -Current Policy

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&division=105.&title=&pa rt=2.&chapter=1.&article  

• An attempt in 2018 to remove the application to private schools was defeated. (CA AB 2668)

Arizona

• AZ SB 1383 in 2018 Protections from state regulations about requiring immunizations of children of foster parents were removed. The bill died in committee.  https://legiscan.com/AZ/text/SB1383/id/1698377

Mississippi        

• MS – No exemption for religious reasons. Applies to public and private schools.  –Current Policy

http://www.msdh.state.ms.us/msdhsite/_static/14,0,71,688.html http://www.msdh.state.ms.us/msdhsite/_static/resources/2029.pdf

• MS – Multiple attempts to add religious and philosophical exemptions, failed in committee. 

https://legiscan.com/MS/bill/SB2059/2018 https://legiscan.com/MS/bill/HB1505/2018

Hawaii              

• HI – HB 779 (2018) Sought to expand exemptions to philosophical reasons – died in committee.

Minnesota         

      •    MN – SF 3977 Sought to eliminate conscientious exemptions  

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/bills/text.php?number=SF3977&version=latest&session=ls90&session_year=2 018&session_number=0

New Jersey        

• NJ – A3818 – Tightens religious exemption:  includes “…an explanation of the nature of the person’s religious tenet or practice that is implicated by the vaccination, and how administration of the vaccine would violate, contradict, or otherwise be inconsistent with that tenet or practice;”
• A3818 passed Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee on 4/5/18

New York          

•       NY  A3485 – Died – Ties vaccination compliance to being able to claim dependents on tax returns.  “ALL MONIES RELATED TO A TAXPAYER’S FAILURE TO CLAIM HIS OR HER DEPENDENTS PURSUANT TO SUBSECTION (A) OF THIS SECTION, SHALL BE CREDITED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND USED SPECIFICALLY FOR VACCINATION AWARENESS AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING.”

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2017/A3485

Oklahoma  

• OK SB 1433 “adds in statute that refusal to vaccinate a child or delaying vaccination is not defined as “child abuse.””In conservative Oklahoma, this bill did not receive enough support to pass through committee. Evidently, a majority of the committee felt that withholding vaccinations, as some level, may constitute “child abuse”.

http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2017-

18%20SUPPORT%20DOCUMENTS/impact%20statements/fiscal/senate/SB1433%20INT%20FI.PDF

• OK SB 1123 sought to eliminate exemptions [R] 

http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/cf_pdf/2017-18%20INT/SB/SB1123%20INT.PDF

• OK SJR 57 sought to put a state constitutional amendment for the elimination of exemptions on the ballot for a vote. 

https://www.legiscan.com/OK/text/SJR57/2018

Pennsylvania  

•     PA SB 217 (2017) Notwithstanding any rule or regulation to the contrary, a strong moral or ethical conviction similar to a religious belief may not qualify as an exemption from the immunization requirements of this section. This bill sought to eliminate philosophical exemptions but did not pass.

https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2017&body=S&type=B&bn=217

Rhode Island 

•     RI H7686 – Attempted to add philosophical exemption – held for further study

https://legiscan.com/RI/bill/H7686/2018

West Virginia  

• WV – “West Virginia does not grant non-medical exemptions.” Applies to “public, private and parochial” schools. –Current Policy

https://dhhr.wv.gov/oeps/immunization/requirements/Pages/Medical-ExemptionResource-Center.aspx http://code.wvlegislature.gov/16-3-4/

• WV HB 2945 Sought to establish Religious and “Conscientious personal objection” – died in legialature.  

http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb2945%20intr.htm&yr=2017&sesstype= RS&i=2945

One final word on the legal front (as in the case of laws tightening up in California) is the importance of understanding that the legal landscape is constantly shifting and changing. Here is a snapshot of how the “winds of change have been blowing” over the last year or so. Legislators in Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania unsuccessfully sought to remove exemptions (MN SF3977, NJ A3818, OK SB1123, PA SB217), while legislators in Hawaii, Mississippi, Rhode Island, and West Virginia unsuccessfully tried to expand exemptions (HI HB779, MS SB2059, RI H7686, WV BH2945). Curiously, New York legislators tried to tie child income tax deductions to vaccination status (NY A3485). Politically, you may have noticed that conservative states are just as likely to be more restrictive as liberal states. The reverse is also true! What is certain, is that change will happen, and it is good to have a ready answer.

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So, what is church and family to do? First, pray for wisdom. Then research the topic well. Consider the medical, ethical, and spiritual aspects. It is not unimaginable that in some future time, the authorities will REQUIRE vaccinations – NO EXCEPTIONS! As a church body of parents given the duty of protecting our children, yet at the same time being a nonresistant people, we would then have to discern: are any convictions we have due to personal objections to vaccines or is submitting to vaccinations a violation of Godly principles? In such a scenario, do we give to Caesar what is Caesar’s (Matthew 22:21) – submitting ourselves, even at the cost of potential bodily harm (such as our forefathers had done)? Or do we “…obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29)?

In either case, it is important to at least discuss this as a church body, to seek God’s direction. The state will be more likely to recognize an individual family’s claim to an exemption, if the Church can show that it has a long established and clearly stated position in writing. Again, I would recommend that all church bodies put these thoughts into words. I have aided churches in the past in doing so and can provide samples of what a group can come up with.

Some have asked me how our family has done vaccines. We have given our children the required vaccines. (They are now all young adults.) Lori and I felt that we needed to not protect only our children from disease but also our neighbor’s children and the elderly as well, through our community’s herd immunity (even if there was a slightly increased risk to our children). For those still fearful of the adverse effects to their children – we understand; one of our children contracted a severe, life-changing complication due to a vaccine she received before we had the blessing of adopting her. The vaccine in question is no longer being used because of this specific adverse effect. This problem was discovered largely due to vigilant clinicians and parents, working together, seeking for the best way to care for the next generation.    

Finally, regarding the morally-tainted vaccines, we (as a family) had the following thoughts. Since these vaccines have been used primarily for community health, we felt that if the authorities could provide us with an ethical vaccine, we would comply. Sadly, they didn’t seem willing to accommodate our views, but fortunately, we were able to obtain alternative vaccines from Japan as a substitute for those vaccines that were tainted (those derived from, and produced on, aborted fetal cell tissue cultures). (For parents and leaders interested in going this route, I would be happy to show the way.) Yet if we would not have been able to obtain these vaccines, (and since our family was taking on a small, but increased risk, and since the risk to the community was also small), if an ethical vaccine was not available that did not use aborted fetal tissue cell lines, we would feel the need to conscientiously refuse to use them, even if there was no religious or philosophical exemption provided by the state. 

SUPPLEMENT – I have provided the following lists for your reference:

Vaccines that are given to try to eradicate now rare diseases (Primarily used to create herd immunity):

• Mumps
• Measles 
• Rubella
• Polio

Main Vaccines produced on aborted fetal tissue cell strains:

• Mumps
• Measles
• Rubella
• Varicella (some – Shingrix is OK)
• Hepatits A
• Polio (some – Imovax, IPOL are OK))
• Rabies (some – Rabavert is OK)

Top Vaccines that offer significant protection to potentially common serious diseases: 

(If you had to choose the most important vaccines to have, these are every-day life savers.)

• DTP (The tetanus spore is ubiquitous (soil, animal, human stools, with up to 300,000 cases of lock jaw/year worldwide).
• H. flu (Not to be confused with the “flu” shot)
• Influenza (80,000 deaths in the US in 2018!)
• Pneumococcus (The “pneumonia” shot – for adults AND children. 900,000 cases/year in the USA, about 50,000 deaths per year SINCE the vaccine was introduced. 40% unvaccinated.)

In conclusion, here are my final recommendations:

• Pray for wisdom.
• Gather knowledge.  (I have provided numerous sources and resources for your use.)
• Discern the truth. (Make sure its not driven by emotions, fear-mongering, or conspiracy theories.)
  • Is it accurate information, or is it misinformation?
  • Is it personal preferences, or is it Godly principles?
• Discuss and agree on a policy as a church body. (And put it in writing.)
• Act on your convictions, as the Spirit leads.
• Obtaining ethical alternatives will take some work, though I can help point the way.

May He grant you each of us wisdom and conviction: Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. -Proverbs 4:7

A Word from the Editor:

We have finally reached the end of this series on vaccinations. We wish to express a big thank you to all for your patience as we have tried to wade through the issues. Our goal was to be neither “pro” nor “anti” on the matter. The sole reason for writing on this subject was to reveal that there is an ethical concern about using vaccinations since they are derived from, and grown on, tissue taken from aborted fetuses. We have endeavored to do our best to present as fair and as balanced of a view as possible.

It has been interesting to interact with our readers regarding this subject. There were several concerns shared along the way, but most responses were that of appreciation about having the information available to read through and to consider. We appreciate all the feedback we have received and invite any more input someone may have.

Moving Forward

As you see towards the end of the article, Dr Miggiani is open to anyone who desires his input on practical ways for churches to put together written policies on this matter. Written policies should be more legally binding in any possible future situations.

Also, currently there doesn’t seem to be any viable alternative options available for those wishing to maintain the herd immunity through vaccinating their children in the U.S. Years ago, Dr. Miggiani’s family found vaccines that were ethically safe available from Japan. Since that was years ago, there would need to be new research done on the matter. If there are those who see this as an important matter needing attention, Dr Miggiani would be interested in communicating with you to see what could be put into place for the benefit of the greater Anabaptist community. If anyone wishes to dialogue with him on these matters, please contact us and we will pass it on to him.

Booklet Project

Finally, we are in the process of compiling this series of articles on vaccinations into a booklet. If any of you have an interest in this, please contact us with a phone or email we can use to let you know once they are finished.