NY Philosophical Exemption Mandates Meeting 12/15

The battle in New York to win the right to a philosophical exemption from state vaccine mandates begins in earnest on Monday 12/15 with a public "Roundtable" meeting on Long Island hosted by Assemblymember Marc Alessi, the sponsor of legislation to give New Yorkers philosophical exemption rights and Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, the powerful chair of the Assembly Health Committee.

The meeting begins at 11 am and continues till 2 pm at Stony Brook University (on Long Islang) Student Activities Center, Ballroom B, comments from the public will be allowed.

The meeting is open to the public and supporters of vaccine rights are encouraged to attend.

We want to make an impression on Gottfried who is a vaccine supporter but who knows that there are serious deficiencies with the current mandatory regime. Gottfried has sponsored his own bills that would prohibit school districts from making any inquiries about the religious beliefs of parents who apply for a religious exemption—some areas of New York are notorious for convening religious courts that grill parents for hours about their religious beliefs and practices, health history, diet and any other aspect of applicants' lives. He has also sponsored legislation designed to stop health departments from investigating physicians who issue medical exemptions. Neither bill has passed. Gottfried's support could be extremely helpful in moving a religious exemption along.

Speakers for the bill included Barbara Loe Fisher of the National Vaccine Information Center, Larry Palevsky, MD of the Northport Wellness Center, Lousie Habakus of the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccine Choice and John Gilmore of Autism United and the Autism Action Network. Speakers in opposition to the philosophical exemption include Dale Morse, MD of the New York State Department of Health and the current chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the federal bureaucracy that creates the "recommended" vaccine schedule. Morse is also thought to be the mastermind behind last year's "Worst Vaccine Bill Ever," that would have made all vaccines approved by the ACIP mandatory for everyone according to the exact schedule laid down by the ACIP. In effect parents who even delayed vaccines could have been reported to child protective services.

Directions:

By Car
Take the Long Island Expressway (LIE, I-495) to exit 62, and follow Nicolls Road (Route 97) north for 9 miles. The main entrance to the University is on the left.

By Train
Take the Long Island Railroad to Port Jefferson line to Stony Brook. The LIRR station is at the north end of the campus; bus service to the central campus is provided. Trains to and from Penn generally require transfers at Jamaica or Huntington. Hicksville is also a transfer point on some lines.

Comments

[Dan Fergo]

I did get to attend this "Roundtable" discussion and I'm glad I did as I accomplished my goal to meet with assemblyman Marc Alessi and extended an invite to him as well as anybody else he would like to accompany him.

My take on the panelists:
Barabara Loe Fisher, professional and knowledgable of course and I regret that I didn't linger longer to say thank you for all the work you have put into this cause.
John Gilmore, also professional and sincere in his questions that many parents with autistic kid(s) ask.
Dr. Lawrence Palevsky was marvelous! He spoke with forthrightness and of current studies and was in my opinion the most knowledgable MD on the panel with regards to ASD.
Dr. Louis Cooper may have 47 years in immuninology, but he doesn't know sqat about autism and is a dinosaur of sorts. He may be a professor, but he needs to get re-educated in 21st century medicine. His concern for preventable infectious dieseases is wonderful, but his obvious closed mindedness and arrogance towards parents concerns about ASD made him look like Sarah Palin in the sense that he seemed like a person that knows what he knows and has no intellilectual curiosity, especially if he doesn't agree with an opposing point of view.
Dr. Paul Lee espoused the levels of ethyl and methyl mercury found in our environment and spoke about other 'bad' ingredients found in vaccines, such as formaldehyde and aluminum which can occur naturally, but did not convince me, nor any others I suspect, that these ingredients are necessary within vaccines.
Dr. Debra Blog, Medical Dir., Immunization program, NYS Dept of Health was filling in for Dr. Dale Morse. Unfortuanately, she was uninformed and lacked the knowledge and facts that most of the audience was fully aware of, thanks in part for this web-site and others. She mentioned the 'Denmark' study, which has been identified as flawed, which Dr. Palevsky updated her on. And while she also espoused the mainstream medical community line that vaccines are good and there are no proved studies linking autism with vaccines I did bend her ear at the end of the discussion when talking with Marc Alessi. I invited them over to see my son Jack first hand and to learn what we have in this past year. I briefly mentioned DAN! protocol and the remarkable progress our son has made in 9 months. I mentioned that my son Jack is undergoing chelation and as some friends have said to us, "Jack is like a new kid!".
Hopefully, they will take me up on my invitation offer.
Louise Kuo Habakus was in my opinion the best presenter. She spoke of relevance and debunked some of the other panelists stats. She spoke to me as a parent with a child having an ASD. She asked questions and prodded the other panelists on some of their statements, which is what was really needed to further this discussion along.
My name is Dan Fergo, my son Jack pictured as Child Warrior on December 7, 2008

[diane]

The United Methodist Women said this in May 2008 (http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umw/)

http://new.gbgm-umc.org/UMW/news/events/general-conference/2008news/?search=vaccines&C=5541&I=19599

The "Mercury-Containing Drugs" resolution calls for The United Methodist Church to support all efforts to protect children and the public from mercury-containing drugs. This includes Thimerasol, a severely toxic organic mercury compound added to some vaccines and pharmaceutical products since the 1930s and is still used in some childhood vaccines and the flu shot. California's Environmental Protection Agency declared Thimerasol a developmental toxin that can cause birth defects, low birth weight, biological dysfunctions, or psychological or behavior deficits that manifest as the child grows. Many parents associate the drug with the onset of autism in their child.

The mercury resolution urges the church to advocate for governmental prioritizing of mercury-free stocks of vaccines and other pharmaceutical products for pregnant women, newborn infants, and children. Women's Division submitted the resolution to General Conference after a year of study and an educational event on the issue.

From 2007 news release

Division Examines Danger of Mercury-Containing Vaccines, Drugs
by BARBARA WHEELER*

http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umw/news/

United Methodist Women members and friends from across the United States are invited to attend a conference to raise awareness about mercury as a preservative in some vaccines and other drugs. The Women’s Division of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries will sponsor “The Truth is Coming to Light” event June 6-7 at Simpsonwood Retreat Center near Atlanta.

The event will educate the faith community about the dangers of vaccines and other drugs that contain the mercury-preservative Thimerosal as a step toward protecting children from this toxin.

At the conclusion of this educational event, two grassroots organizations, Moms Against Mercury and the Coalition for Mercury-free Drugs (CoMeD) will hold a rally at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a press conference nearby in Atlanta.

“We are absolutely not opposed to vaccinating children,” said Julie Taylor, Women’s Division executive. “We think vaccinations are important to the health and safety of children, but even a trace amount of mercury, a known neuro-toxin, should not be injected into our bodies. If there is mercury in any medicine we are given, we should know about it.”

The Women’s Division is sponsoring this educational event and will support the coalitions in their public witness and press conference. The division calls for informed consent whenever persons receive vaccinations that contain mercury and also advocates that mercury be removed from all medicines.

In April 2006, the Women’s Division Board of Directors called on the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to take action to protect children from mercury-containing drugs.

United Methodist Women have established a legacy of advocacy for children. Some of this work has taken place through the Campaign for Children. The campaign has focused on improving the lives of children in their communities, safety and well-being of children, and access of all children to quality public education.

“The children and families that are affected by mercury- poisoning are marginalized in their efforts to uncover the truth about this toxin,” Ms. Taylor said. “They are individuals questioning large agencies of the government and pharmaceutical companies about the use of mercury.

“We hope member of United Methodist Women will come to this event to be informed and become a part of the effort to raise awareness about this issue in their communities.

For information on the history of United Methodist Women’s work with issues related to mercury poisoning and children’s health, visit www.umwmission.org.

*Barbara Wheeler is an executive secretary for communications with the Women’s Division of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries.
See Also:
• Division Addresses Mercury Poisoning through Vaccines

[Diane]

I can't believe I can't get to this. Looking forward to hearing from John afterwards.

[Kelli Ann Davis]

Excellent slate of speakers!!

I'd hate to be sitting on the *other side* of the table across from Barbara, John and Louise -- you couldn't pay me enough!

(This is one of those times when I'd love to be the proverbial "fly on the wall" ;-)

[Marni]

I just learned there is a Church that is against vaccination. So, in the meantime, couldn't people join this Church since they hold the necessary beliefs to avoid vaccination?

[Tanners Dad]

"Even vaccines that helped wipe out deadly diseases, such as polio, had rare side effects that could kill as many as five or six people a year who had faulty immune systems, for example", said Dr. Melinda Wharton, acting director of the Immunization Safety Office at CDC.

So we multiply that by 40 vaccinations or more that the Pharmaceutical industry is pushing on us and it is OK to have 240 Plus people die a year from vaccinations?

Demand Informed Consent.