Doctors Group Calls for End to Mandatory Childhood Vaccines

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, (AAPS), on November 2, 2000 issued a press release calling for a moratorium on all government mandated vaccines. This release was based on a resolution passed unanimously by the group at their 57th annual meeting.

Jane M. Orient, MD, AAPS Executive Director stated, "Our children face the possibility of death or serious long-term adverse effects from mandated vaccines that are not necessary or that have very limited benefits." Orient went on to say, "This is not a vote against vaccines. 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."

According to the AAPS press release -- Forty-two states have mandatory vaccine policies, and many children are required to have 22 shots before first grade. On top of that, as a condition for school attendance, many school districts require vaccination for diseases such as hepatitis B -- primarily an adult disease, usually spread by multiple sex partners, drug abuse or an occupation with exposure to blood. And yet, 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.

The press release also mentions numerous cases where parents were threatened by local health officials with having their children taken from them for abuse if they refused to vaccinate. In response to this situation Dr. Orient of the AAPS concluded by saying, "It is obscene to threaten to seize a child just because his parents refuse medical treatment that is obviously unnecessary and perhaps even dangerous. The AAPS believes that parents, with the advice of their doctors, should make decisions about their childrens medical care, not government bureaucrats. This resolution affirms that position."