If you had to choose between your child being seriously ill or your child having Autism, which would you choose?
That is a pretty powerful question and I could not imagine having to answer it as a parent. If you vaccinate your children on schedule, you are increasing your child’s risk of being diagnosed with Autism according to some. There was a study done in the 1990’s that seemed to prove vaccines to be harmful. Anecdotal evidence seems to support it as well.
It's really too bad the entire movement against vaccines is flawed. Vaccines don't cause autism. Not even a little bit; not even at all. Actually, as it turns out, vaccines may even help decrease the risk. According to a meta-analysis of ten different studies that involved over 1.2 million children, vaccines could actually provide some protection from autism. (AustismSpeaks.org)
But for argument’s sake, let’s say they do. Let’s say that vaccines can cause Autism in some children. Are you saying you would rather take the chance and leave your child open to contracting a serious illness than have your child run the (SMALL AT ABSOLUTE BEST) risk of being mentally handicapped? Potentially having a child on the autism spectrum is worse than having them be seriously ill or dead, in your humble opinion?
That is exactly what you are saying when you say, “I will not vaccinate my child due to the (almost non-existent) risks involved.” That is also what you are telling other parents who actually cannot have their children vaccinated. You would rather their child be dead or seriously ill than have your own child run the minuscule risk of being autistic.
Whether you know it or not, some children are either too young or too sick to get that shot you don’t want your child to have. So while you can consciously say, “I am thoroughly ok with my child potentially having this illness instead of getting vaccinated.” There are parents who are saying, “I hope everyone my child comes into contact with is vaccinated so they don’t get this disease, because if they do become sick, they might not make it.” While your child might survive chicken pox, little Suzie, who is immunocompromised, might not.
Your child’s vaccine does not just protect them. It protects us all. It protects those who can’t protect themselves. I am all for you risking your own life because you believe in faulty pseudoscience. This is America and you have that right. With vaccines however, you are risking your child’s life and the lives of every individual your child comes into contact with. You are risking their lives simply by not vaccinating because you believe in faulty pseudoscience that has been disproven so many times over it is almost comical at this point. Your reasoning isn't good enough anymore. Vaccines do not cause autism and we know that to be true as much as we know they are the sole reason polio has been eradicated in this country.
Shame on you for choosing to believe that medical professionals who have given their lives to finding the best ways to keep us all healthy are in fact trying to harm those you love most. You're scared of something you know little about and that's understandable. What I fail to understand is the fact that you continue to insist you know more than those who have spent years researching the safety of vaccines and the science behind them.
