New Jersey Gubernatorial Candidate Chris Christie Addresses Both Autism & Vaccination Choice
Managing Editor's Note: Most of us do not reside in New Jersey, however, Louise Kuo Habakus of Life Health Choices sent us this letter from Republican Gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie, in which he addresses autism, vaccination choice and special needs funding. The point of sharing this letter with you is not to make an endorsement, we are not, but to show you that autism, vaccine safety and vaccine choice advocacy are being noticed by candidates. Thank you to Louise for her continued hard work. You can see the .pdf of the letter HERE.
Dear Friend:
The state we love is at a crossroads. In one week, New Jerseyans will go to the polls and cast ballots in a gubernatorial election that will determine our state’s priorities and future.
There are many issues of importance to New Jerseyans in this race and Governor Jon Corzine and I stand at opposite ends of the spectrum on many of them. While the Governor has stated he will continue to raise taxes to cover his budget shortfalls, I have put forth a plan to drastically cut wasteful spending while still funding vital priority programs, such as special needs and education.
I have met with families affected by autism from across the state and have been struck by their incredible grace and courage. Many of these families have expressed their concern over New Jersey’s highest-in-the nation vaccine mandates. I stand with them now, and will stand with them as their governor in their fight for greater parental involvement in vaccination decisions that affect their children.
The stark reality is that Governor Corzine’s Administration continues to underfund and under support the agencies charged with providing assistance to these families and ignores the impact of failed policies. In 2009 the State Comptroller reported that millions were being wasted annually by the Division of Developmental Disabilities and the Corzine Administration responded by slashing the budgets of the vital private agencies dedicated to assisting the disabled. The state offices continue to suffocate the families of New Jersey with mountains of rules and regulations with little sign of understanding or concern for the realities of their lives.
In addition, Governor Corzine reduced state funding in the 2010 state budget proposal for the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) by $13.5m which was covered this year with a onetime addition of federal aid. This budget gimmick places the DDD’s vital funding and
programs at grave risk.
Through my interactions with families of children with special needs, I have seen the financial, social and emotional impact of autism on New Jersey families. Like so many aspects of New Jersey’s state government, I think we all know that we can and must do better. When it comes to serving the most challenged members of our community, it simply is not enough to talk about helping, we must make change an immediate priority.
My conversations with educators, caregivers, health professionals, and parents of special needs children have given me an appreciation for the important role of state government in improving the lives of special needs children and adults and ensuring all have the tools they need to succeed in our state. Ending waste in state government in order to improve care and services for these unique children and adults, as well as giving parents the choice they deserve in their children’s health care decisions, will be top priorities.
1st: Who are we going to vote for?
Dad: Well, Corzine is the current guy, and Christie wants to be the new guy.
1st: Christie's ads are annoying. (!) And Christie thinks there should be different rules for himself than everybody else. (Holy s*$t, did Corzine buy time on the Disney channel?)
Dad: Maybe so, but Corzine thinks kids should be forced to get vaccines to go to school. Corzine thinks New Jersey should decide who should get what vaccines, rather than Mom or Dad. We saw vaccines hurt your brother. We think parents should decide, especially parents who saw brothers or sisters hurt by vaccines.
1st: Did you tell Corzine about the problem with vaccines?
Dad: We did, but he didn't listen. He still thinks New Jersey should decide.
1st: What did Christie say?
Dad: He didn't say much, but I think he will be more likely to let parents decide, especially because if he wins it will be the vaccine safety parents who made it possible for him to win. I KNOW Corzine won't let parents decide, because he had four years to do it and didn't. He added extra vaccines.
1st: So let's vote for Christie.
Dad: OK.
Posted by: Conversation with a first grader on the way to the NJ polls | November 03, 2009 at 05:28 PM
I will be voting for Christie. While I do not expect much from him, I am merely hoping that he does not add annual flu vaccine mandates for the age 5 to age 18 group. I fully expect Corzine will add more annual vaccines, and perhaps even Gardasil, if re-elected. Look at the running mate Corzine chose-- Loretta Weinberg. As an assemblywoman, she actually did try to mandate Gardasil for NJ girls. Reference SB 2286.
Posted by: Gayle | November 02, 2009 at 02:49 PM
Whatever happens in the vaccine scenario in New Jersey or any other state can happen to any one or all of us!!! But at least this letter shows that the candidates are being affected by all of the autism parents, although it remains to be seen if this politician or any of the others are actually going to do anything about the autism and vaccines situations.
Here is another article that I just read online at AOL, which sounds to me like there is a distinct possibility that this baby was exposed to vaccine toxins during pregnancy. Is there anyone here who knows anyone who can find out who this baby's parents are (in England)? Someone that Dr. Wakefield is still connected with there perhaps? A British Homeopathic doctor that has some influence there maybe? This issue is URGENT as this baby's life is dependent upon ACTION NOW due to the hospital doctors wanting to discontinue life support!!!
Here is the article along with my own comments:
http://news.aol.com/health/article/british-dad-fights-to-keep-baby-rb-on/746846?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl1|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Fhealth%2Farticle%2Fbritish-dad-fights-to-keep-baby-rb-on%2F746846
Dad Fights to Keep Baby on Life Support
AOL News
(Nov. 2) -- A British hospital wants to remove a 1-year-old boy born with a rare neuromuscular condition from life support, but the child's father is fighting to keep him alive.
The baby's mother agrees with hospital officials, who sought High Court permission Monday to remove the boy from the ventilator that allows him to breathe, British media reported.
"RB's mother has sat by her son's bedside every day since he was born," her lawyer, Anthony Fairweather, said in a statement, according to Sky News. "In her mind the intolerable suffering experienced by her son must outweigh her own personal grief should she lose her child."
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The infant, known only as "Baby RB," was born with congenital myasthenic syndrome, a muscle weakness that limits the movement of his limbs and his ability to breathe on his own. He has been in the hospital since birth.
Doctors treating the baby say he has such poor quality of life that it's not in his best interests to keep him alive. But lawyers for the father argue that the child's brain is not affected by the condition and that Baby RB can see, hear, feel, recognize his parents and even play with toys.
"This is a tragic case. The father feels very strongly that Baby RB has a quality of life that demands the trust should continue to provide life-sustaining treatment. The father clearly adores his son and hopes to demonstrate to the court that the trust's application should be rejected," Christopher Cuddihee, a lawyer representing the father, told the Sunday Telegraph.
The parents are separated, but both have been living in a special dedicated family accommodation near the hospital since Baby RB's birth. Their identities were withheld for legal reasons.
If the hospital's application is granted, it will be the first time a British court has gone against the wishes of a parent and ruled that life support can be discontinued or withdrawn from a child who does not have brain damage, the Guardian newspaper said.
Congenital myasthenic syndrome is the result of a rare gene abnormality that affects the link between the nerve and muscle, destroying the "signal" between the two when the nerve wants the muscle to contract.
Only 300 people in the United Kingdom are believed to have CMS, and they are affected with varying degrees of severity.
There are Miraculous responses to Nutritional and Natural Therapies every single day. Just because the medical system has no solution for this child's problem, does not mean that there is no solution elsewhere. I know of a young boy with a very similiar condition and he is responding dramatically to essential oils (Young Living THERAPEUTIC GRADE), Methyl B-12 and a nutritional program. His parents are also considering Hyperbaric Oxygen therapy for him as well. I pray that this boy's parents do their own research on these subjects and pursue these powerful natural therapies because if this child responds positively at all, this will give them both hope to pursue further treatments and will stop the legal action to KILL this defenseless innocent child.
If this child's mother received vaccines during her pregnancy, the Mercury and / or the Aluminum are both potent neurotoxins and capable of destroying the myelin sheath which enables the nerves to transmit the impulses to the body. Methyl B-12 has been shown to regenerate the myelin sheath and is necessary for the methylation detox pathway. Have the doctors even tested this child for heavy metal exposure, or for other potent neurotoxins such as pesticides and formaldehyde? All of these and many other toxins are known to produce this kind of neurological damage as well as DNA damage in utero. There are excellent Homeopathic physicians in England who are familiar with this and who can utilize safe natural therapies for this child. I pray that the parents transfer this child to a Homeopathic Hospital there in order to get additional medical opinions from qualified physicians. "Seek and Ye Shall Find. Knock and the Door Shall be Opened to You."
Posted by: Autism Grandma | November 02, 2009 at 01:12 PM
Christie will eviscerate our public education system--under a Christie administration, you can kiss goodbye any out of district placements or properly trained ABA paraprofessionals, both of which will be put in the category of "wasteful spending". Christie has a long history of corruption and is very controversial even in the conservative Republican circles in which I run. And I don't believe for a second that he will do a thing about vaccination choice.
Posted by: don'tbefooled | November 02, 2009 at 11:47 AM
Having lived in New Jersey for many years, I still have relatives and lots of friends still there. Not a one trusts Christie or any of the politicians for that matter. Corzine has been terrible for New Jersey as have most of the others in that office. I wish they would get someone who differs from the typical self-promoting politician.
Posted by: Maurine Meleck | November 02, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Unfortunately, I am so jaded regarding politicians; they could promise a cure in a year and I still wouldn't rush to the polls. They promise, promise, promise, and once elected, they succumb to the lure of self-serving corruption.
Posted by: Katie | November 02, 2009 at 11:15 AM
Christie wants to get rid of New Jersey's autism mandate, he claims it is too costly and an unfair financial tax burden on childless singles. If he can manipulate you this easily then you have proven yourselves fools.
Posted by: llevine | November 02, 2009 at 10:15 AM
I don't put much stock in any candidate really tackling the vaccine issue. Neither Dems nor Repubs. Where is John McCain as the autism numbers have continued to climb? Or on the H1N1 vax program? He's still a powerful elected official - has he spoken out or followed up on his campaign promises? Where is Mrs. Palin? Surely she has the time to be an advocate now, yes? They feed us what we want to hear... Then dine at the trough full of money.
Posted by: Stagmom | November 02, 2009 at 09:55 AM
NJ has the highest rates of autism in the country, 1 in appx. 66......Do you think these poor children will ever grow up to be doctors, chemists, lawyers, accountants, .....they are still in diapers usually at the age of 7.......will the federal government step in and pay them SS for the rest of their lives??? vaccines have caused my child to have seizures at 2 months old and 9 pounds......NEVER AGAIN. I will move out of state before my HIGH tax dollars are not enough to get my unvaccinated child into a NJ public school
Posted by: vaccines kill | November 02, 2009 at 08:46 AM
htbenz - you're absolutely right, we just got socked with FOUR more mandates last year including mandatory annual seasonal flu shots, first in any state
cherry - highest in nation means we have more shots mandated than any other state. And yes, NJ still allows mercury in vaccines, thanks to Assm Herb Conaway who would not let the bill move.
seek - vaccine mandates are not entirely a legislative issue here in NJ. The last 4 vaccines that were mandated ran through the Public Health Council, Health Dept, and governor. When the health dept wants to, they go right around the legislative process. Corzine has done nothing for us over the last 4 years. We still have the highest-in-nation autism rate. We still have over 8000 in queue for residential housing. Corzine promised before he was elected to ban mercury in shots and he didn't once in office. Corzine got us a flimsy autism insurance bill that won't take place for another year, and once it does will only cover those with self-funded insurance companies that are NJ-based - that's a small portion of the autism community, so most will still be without autism insurance.
Posted by: HD | November 02, 2009 at 08:13 AM
Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't Gov Corzine the one that gave Big Pharma the gift of being the 1st in the nation state to mandate flu shots for children? ... to which Big Pharma is trying to ram it down the throats of the other 49 states?
Posted by: htbenz | November 02, 2009 at 05:43 AM
Well I am pissed, we cannot get our state elected officals to speak up for our ASD kids in our state. Much less Vaccine concerns, help for families in crisis.
If Christie doesn't get elected, tell him to head South, we need him to butt some heads.
( Best wishes to those in Jersey, may you get the best one elected for the job).
Posted by: Allie90 | November 02, 2009 at 01:42 AM
Could someone tell us exactly what "highest in the nation" mandates means.? I assume that NJ is still a state that allows mercury vaccines to be given to children.? Please weigh in on these topics if you can.
Posted by: Cherry Sperlin Misra | November 02, 2009 at 12:56 AM
Hmmm. I am disturbed by this politicking. First of all, much like the presidential election, vaccine choice is largely a legislative issue, not an executive one. Christie can say anything he wants but neither he nor Corzine can deliver the change that Ms. Habakus has been advocating for.
I have had a chance to speak one on one with the governor along with many other families concerned about autism. I believe that Corzine is working hard for us. He has required 1st responders to receive training on handling autism, signed autism insurance coverage legislation, and recently opened an Office on Autism within the DHS. Christie has criticized insurance mandates as being too costly, and wants to open up open up the insurance market to out of state companies who are not bound by these mandates. To date, Christie HAS NOT conveyed "a plan to drastically cut wasteful spending", and there there is no reason to believe that a conservative candidate who has done nothing but promise to cut taxes will do more than Corzine has to help families with disabilities. NJ faces an 8 Billion dollar deficit next year , and if Corzine is juggling federal dollars to keep DDD funding where it is, then God bless him. Christie has pledged to not accept federal stimulus funds that have strings attached. Amongst those items with "strings attached" are about $380 million in IDEA funding and $1.68 BILLION for DHS, of which DDD is a part of. It is incredibly important to the families with disabilities in NJ to support Corzine, and to continue the battle for vaccine choice in the legislature as njvaccinationchoice.org has advocated for.
Posted by: seek | November 01, 2009 at 10:06 PM
The CDC report Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders published February 9, 2007 / 56(SS01);1-11 and found here http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5601a1.htm looks at the 8 year olds in the reporting period of the year 2000. This study shows that New Jersey in the year 2000 already had a nearly one percent population diagnosed with autism. 9.9 out of 1,000.
"For 2000, across six sites, a total of 1,252 children aged 8 years were identified as having an ASD. The overall prevalence of ASDs per 1,000 children aged 8 years ranged from 4.5 in West Virginia to 9.9 in New Jersey. "
Interesting that New Jersey also has the distinction of having the "highest-in-the nation vaccine mandates. "
What's up in West Virginia? Half as many kids with autism.
Posted by: bensmyson | November 01, 2009 at 09:35 PM
I don't live in New Jersey but wanted to thank Mr. Christie and wish him luck.
Posted by: Angela | November 01, 2009 at 09:10 PM
He sounds like a great guy! Good luck Mr. Christie. Now if only we could get a candidate like this in the next Pennsylvania election for governor...but I won't hold my breath.
Posted by: Melissa D | November 01, 2009 at 08:49 PM