Over 50 people showed up to see the movie, The Greater Good, and to hear a panel of experts discuss the mandatory vaccination bill, SB277. Our potluck was fabulous!! There was a wide assortment of delicious offerings from pate, salads, stew, bread and cheese. Yum!
The documentary highlighted authorities, both advocates of vaccines and those that question the regulation and administration of vaccines and their safety. Three personal stories of vaccine damage were told as well. Gabi, a healthy 15-year-old honor student, saw an ad on TV for Gardasil to prevent cervical cancer. She developed neurological problems after being vaccinated. Jordan, regressed into autism after being vaccinated. He is unable to speak and has behavioral problems. A 5-month-old baby died after being vaccinated.
Barbara Loe Fisher, cofounder of the National Vaccine Injury Center, was featured in the film. And Dr. Bob Sears, author of the book, The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child, offers his in-depth knowledge of vaccines and the diseases they prevent and has helped parents get a better understanding of this complex issue.
We had a panel of three people: Dr Lindy Woodard of Pediatric Alternatives, Deborah Landowne of Marin Homeopathy, and Christina Hildebrand of A Voice For Choice. She is an activist on the front lines trying to stop the mandatory vaccination bill, SB277, from passing. We tried to have Leslie Manookian, filmmaker, Skype in but the technology gods weren’t with us.
Dr. Woodard wants to do what is best for her patients. She feels there are too many vaccines that haven’t been adequately researched so safety is in question and the drug companies aren’t liable if there are injuries from vaccines.
Deborah Landowne wants to support her clients to make informed decisions regarding whether or not to vaccinate. She also has expertise in helping individuals heal from vaccine damage.
Christina Hildebrand says that there are only 0.7% of kids in the state of California who are completely unvaccinated. And only 2.54% of families have filed a Personal Belief Exemption but these kids may be partially vaccinated. She encouraged everyone to talk to his or her representatives so they know that people opposing this are real and rational people. She suggested pointing to the bill AB2109 and say that there has been a drop of 19% of Personal Belief Exemptions so it is working. She also suggested that the schooling options (homeschooling), if SB277 passes, go against our constitutional rights to a free and public education. She said that Democrats don’t want to hear that vaccines aren’t safe and they don’t want to hear that you want your parental rights. She said that “we need to talk to them in their language – tell them you are also concerned about public health and safety, but that SB277 does not address that for California, it just targets a small group of children that have been selectively vaccinated”.
This was a fascinating evening with a lot of energy and input from the audience. Thank you all for being there!
By Karen Hamilton-Roth