Doctors' Group Votes to Oppose Vaccine Mandates
http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/Current_Releases/1102-115.html

      U.S. Newswire - A leading national physician organization is calling
for a moratorium on all government mandated vaccines and has passed a
resolution to that end at their annual meeting. Members of the Association
of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) voted this week at their 57th
Annual Meeting in St. Louis to pass a resolution calling for an end to
mandatory childhood vaccines. The resolution passed without a single "no"
vote.
      "Our children face the possibility of death or serious long-term
adverse effects from mandated vaccines that aren't necessary or that have
very limited benefits," said Jane M. Orient, MD, AAPS executive director.
"This is not a vote against vaccines," said Dr. Orient. "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."
      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. Just last week, students in Utica,
N.Y. were sent home from school, and told they could not return until they
had been forced to receive hep B vaccinations. Further, parents were
threatened by Child Protective Services with possible seizure of their
children based on "education neglect."
      "It's obscene to threaten to seize a child just because his parents
refuse medical treatment that is obviously unnecessary and perhaps even
dangerous," said Dr. Orient.
      "AAPS believes that parents, with the advice of their doctors, should
make decisions about their children's medical care -- not government
bureaucrats. This Resolution affirms that position."