My answer:
Yes and no.
Lowell and I began our journey through the confusing world of vaccinations eleven years ago when Derek was born. He received his 3-month vaccines just like most babies do in America today – simply because to be a good parent this was expected of you.
However, soon afterward we came across some information regarding vaccines which made us stop and consider that the medical world might not have all the answers.
Since then we have only given the DT (diptheria tetanus) shot to our our oldest four. Reason being, tetanus is a much scarier disease than something like measles. Yet we’re always learning and recently found out that tetanus has never been found in the soil around this area. So that is one we probably won’t be giving anymore. (We were giving it for the tetanus, not necessarily the diptheria – but you can’t seem to get the tetanus alone around here).
I know there are many reasons why some don’t give vaccines at all and why some give all the vaccines to their children. Many reasons why some parents decide to forgo this is because of the mercury and other ingredients within the vaccines. (You can now ask for mercury-free vaccines). Some people are afraid of the links to autism from vaccines. I am one of those people.
These reasons are ones which can be debated because there will always be a study showing either side. I personally don’t like the thought of putting mercury within my child’s body – especially at 1, 2, or 3-months of age. If a couple feels strongly to give vaccines, I’d highly suggest you wait until their little immune systems are more developed. Maybe wait until just before they enter school.
But our main reason for withholding vaccinations from our children is the fact that they used aborted babies to produce their vaccine with. I remember being shocked and disgusted at the thought this was happening in our America and our doctors were promoting it. So I decided to see for myself.
One day I asked our nurse at the pediatrician’s office if I could see the package insert that came from the manufacturer with the vaccine. It took some time for them to dig one up, but they did and I now have an insert from all the major vaccines given to American children.
There it was, listed in black and white on a paper I held in my hands. It won’t say “aborted fetal cell lines”, but it will say something along the line of “propagated in WI-38 human diploid lung fibroblasts from elective abortion.”
So what is this WI-38?
There is a website dedicated to getting information out regarding these unethical vaccines called Children of God for Life. They have much info regarding how these fetal cell lines were made. Here is a small excerpt from their site:
“Explant cultures were made of the dissected organs of a particular fetus aborted because of rubella, the 27th in our series [emphasis added] of fetuses aborted. This fetus was from a 25-year-old mother exposed to rubella 8 days after her last menstrual period. 16 days later she developed rubella. The fetus was surgically aborted 17 days after maternal illness and dissected immediately. Explants from several organs were cultured and successful cell growth was achieved from lung, skin, and kidney. It was then grown on WI-38. The new vaccine was tested on orphans in Philadelphia.” [13]
Here are some links that will prove helpful to you about how these vaccines and cell lines are made, and what vaccinations were made with these:
Aborted Fetal Cell Line Products – and Ethical Alternatives
Whether or not vaccines actually do what they were invented to do is an entirely different and debatable question. But we do not believe these vaccines made with aborted fetal cell lines have the blessing of God on them. Not when God Himself is the Giver of Life.
So now you know why we withhold vaccines from our children.
Your answers:
Now it’s your turn to tell us why you do or do not give vaccines to your child or future children.
Thank you!
Linking to Growing Home, Deep Roots at Home, Raising Arrows, Raising Homemakers, Women Living Well, A Wise Woman, Time-Warp Wife, and Linda’s Lunacy.
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Homegrown Roots says
Kendra – I really, really appreciate the info you pointed out in this post!
Kendra Graber says
Very welcome!!
my simple reflections says
nice post thanks for sharing..found you thrue other bloggers hope visiting more..blessings
Elisabeth Fury says
Thanks Kendra for these infos, I didn’t know the fact that they use aborted babies to produce these vaccines. This is really shocking to me. I’ve never received any vaccines and I am 36 years old! The same for my husband, and both of us decided not to give them to our children. And honestly, they are very healthy. Just a few weeks ago our youngest fell from his bike and needed 5 stitches on his forehead. The doctor wasn’t happy that he didn’t have his immunization for tetanus, but with the use of charcoal poultices and intake of magnesium to boost the immune system, he is very well and had not trouble.
My sister in law was pregnant with their second child while doing her nurse’s studies, and as she had to go to the hospital to work, she had to have all the vaccines. They gave her all of them, and at 5 months of pregnancy her baby died and it was a very traumatic delivery for her. The doctor said that the vaccines where most probably the cause of death of the baby.
Again thank you Kendra for the infos, and also for these discussion times that are very interesting! May God bless you, Elisabeth
Kendra Graber says
Oh, that is just so sad. Hope everything has been okay since! And I love the advice about charcoal and magnesium. Thank you!
Elisabeth Fury says
Yes everything is okay! Actually they have now 6 children, all healthy and happy, and honestly I believe there will be more babies in the future!
Evie says
Thank you so much for the information. I had heard a long time ago that they use aborted fetuses in vaccines, then later I think I read or heard that they don’t anymore. Well if you saw it for yourself, that confirms it. I’m so glad to know about it. Neither of my children have had any vaccines. My oldest is going to school next year and we will have to give him shots I guess. I looked into it and it looks like there’s no way around it. Any suggestions? Thanks again!
Kendra Graber says
Like Jenny Burkey said, there are some alternatives — the website I listed has more info on those as well. Although some of those are not in the US.
Our children go to a private school, but I was thinking most schools allowed for an exemption. Maybe someone else who knows more about public schools has better advice for you.
Jenny Burkey says
According the the research I have done, there are viable alternatives to most embryo derived immunizations.
TMichelle says
WOW! That is horrendous and inexcusable. Thank you for pointing this out. I’ll be checking into alternatives.
Susielee says
Wow, I had no idea. My baby is due for his second round of vaccines in a week. I tried to educate myself before the first round. We decided to vaccinate because the diseases are scarier than the supposed risk of autism… I guess. To be honest, I am not sure we made the right decision, there is just too much confusion on both sides of the debate. All I know is that many of the scary diseases that were once a problem aren’t now.
The other thing is that we did vaccines with my first because we send her to private school and there is no way around it. She is 8 years old and very healthy, absolutely no concerns about autism. But of course, that is one child. Don’t base your decisions on one case.
I am pretty sure you can send your child to public schools without the vaccines, you just have to sign a form. At least that is how it is in my state.
M.L.Drew says
Susielee, take a breath and relax. The reason you had no idea was because the is no scientific evidence to back up the claims of the anti-vax movement. I will address a few of these myths that the author pointed out.
Mercury. Mercury is only found in the flu vaccine. There is more mercury in a tuna fish sandwich than in a does of the flu vaccine. Also, in 6 months a breastfed baby receives 25times more mercury via mother’s milk than what is in a flu vaccine.
As for the Autism myth mentioned in comments, more than 17 LARGE studies have shown no link between vaccines and autism. The doctors who performed the original study saying that autism was linked to vaccinations have now retracted and issued a statement saying there is no conclusive evidence.
There have been mumps and measles outbreaks in recent years because the anti-vax movement is growing. These diseases can be deadly. I am going to talk about a few of the diseases we are vaccinated for.
The measles; When most people think of the measles they just think of a rash. However, it is quite common for the measles to result in pneumonia. In 1991 there was a huge outbreak in Philadelphia and many children lost their lives. The measles can also lead to encephalitis, which is an infection in the brain that often results in permanent brain damage.
The mumps can infect a male’s testicles causing orchitis and even leading to sterility. Before a vaccine was developed for the mumps it was the most common cause of meningitis.
Rubella, another disease that we vaccinate for may not seem like THAT big of a deal. It’s just a rash, right? Wrong. 85 of 100 pregnant woman with Rubella had babies that were permanently harmed. Rubella virus can cause deafness, blindness, heart defects or mental retardation in infants whose mothers were infected early in pregnancy.
Now to address the aborted babies part of the blog. Yes, this is true but only to an extent. The anti-vax movement would have you believe that you are injecting your precious little one with tissue from aborted babies. This is not true. There are TWO aborted fetuses that are used in making vaccines. There have always only been TWO, the same two and the vaccine is GROWN in the fetal cells. The doctors are not injecting cells from aborted babies into your baby. No more aborted fetuses are being used to create vaccines. If abortion was outlawed (which I am sure we all pray for) we would still have these TWO fetuses to continue to create vaccines. It is tragic that abortion exists but vaccination your children does not mean you support abortion.
The reason many of these scary diseases are no longer a problem is because so much of the population is vaccinated. Just as in the case of the outbreak of measles, if we stop vaccinating, these diseases will return. I will never put my child at risk for a preventable disease.
Kendra, I believe you are a good, kind, Christian woman. You have a beautiful family. I enjoy reading other aspects of your blog. However, on this particular issue, you are wrong.
For any of you who consider not vaccinating, I urge you to see your doctor. Your doctor is not in the business of hurting you. Don’t get caught up in the google-ing group and scared by the misinformation. You could spend the rest of your life searching the internet to find out what the right answer is. The fact is this; There is scientific evidence that proves vaccines are safe and they work. There is no scientific evidence to the contrary.
Kendra Graber says
I’m not going to go into what I believe about whether or not vaccines work and begin quoting studies. I left that open to debate. And quite honestly, I think there is evidence for both sides. But this is something I think every parent needs to personally weigh the options of whether or not they would rather risk the disease or complications from the vaccine.
However, on the issue of aborted babies being used to grow vaccines, you will not get me to change my stance. I cannot believe God has blessed a vaccine that uses an elective abortion to make it, even if it was only TWO babies, they were still precious to God.
M.L.Drew says
I understand where you’re coming from but the thing is, there is no scientific evidence for both sides. There is evidence from one side, whereas the opposing side simply uses scare tactics and lies. This is a very simple issue that has been turned into a complicated debate. Vaccines save lives.
If you weigh the risk of disease vs. risk of side effects from the vaccines, the choice is clear. The side effects are minimal and the diseases are deadly.
I agree that those two babies were precious to God even if their parents chose to abort them. This is an issue that I have sought the Lord on and I encourage others to do the same. Even though bad things happen, good can come from them. Two babies were aborted which we both agree is terrible, but millions of lives have been saved. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”-Romans 8:28 Their short lives (almost 3months in utero) have been used to save so many other lives. I praise God that He is able to use something as terrible as abortion to bring good into the lives of so many.
Mrs Sarah Coller says
Thanks so much for this article and perspective. I have just been going back and forth and not sure what to do about vaccines. My 8 kids have been vaccinated with little consistency…I’m pregnant with number 9 and am not sure what to do about this one. A definite subject for prayer, I suppose!
Have a lovely day! I think this is my first visit to your blog.
Mrs. Sarah Coller
Jo says
I’m not sure if I can properly convey my thoughts on this. We have vaccinated our children and at this point plan to continue. We feel the benefits outweigh the risks. As far as the abortion issue, I have one question I’d like to ask. I’m not saying I have the answers, but rather this is just a thought that came to me. How was it different for them to use the death of a baby and turn it into something good, than for people to donate organs? Yes, it was wrong how the baby died (abortion); whereas, the way an organ donor dies may be natural. Yet in both cases, you can’t change the fact that there was a death. So if the doctors used tissues from the dead baby to create something good, how is that different from using organs from a dead person, to give life to another?
These are some thoughts I’ve had; I stand open to correction.
And as far as exemptions for school children, it varies from state to state. In Mississippi there is no religious exemption, which most other states have. I think there may be a medical exemption though.
Kendra Graber says
That is a very good question! Here is a link that might help: http://www.cogforlife.org/vaccines-abortions/
Jo says
Thanks for the link. This gives me a lot of thinking and studying to do.
Anonymous says
About 5 – 6 years ago we asked our local family doctor about the aborted baby issue because that was a big deal and we wanted to know. He, as you know, is an outstanding man and we respect his insights. I don’t remember his exact words, but in essence he told us they no longer use fetus or aborted babies in the vaccinations.
Also, on the tetnus thing, I would be interested in the source of the fact that there is no tetnus in the soil around here. I have lived here for 17 years and this is the first I’ve heard of this. Tetnus is found in more then just the soil….it is in animal feces too, so if an elk from WA or MT crossed into ID and left some feces behind, could that not bring tetnus into ID that could get onto our mighty ID hunters boots and in turn get drug into their very own vehicles, yards, and mud rooms?! Not “picking a fight” just really wondering where/what the source is for no tetnus here. Thanx!
Kendra Graber says
Actually, I got that tetanus info secondhand from someone who got it from the doctor here in town. But I’d personally like to ask him about it and if it’s also true that they don’t use those vaccines anymore, I say “hallelujah!!” 🙂 That’s another thing I’ll have to ask him about — and also for the inserts. I like to see for myself. 😉
I’ll have to research the tetanus in animal feces thing. I have a book around here somewhere…..
Thanks!!