So the time has come to get my butt in gear and think about taking the LO to the Dr. for her "routine" vaccines...but I'm having a really rough time with the decision to actually go through with it.

I'm trying to do some research online about the risks/benefits of vaccines for babies and so far, everything is very middle of the road. I was reading a blog entry about the ethics of vaccines and was very surprised to read that the rubella vaccine was made from an aborted fetus. Can I honestly subject my child to this??? A part of me really doesn't want to do this...but another doesn't want to be branded a "hippie" and endanger my child!

Anyone else struggling with this decision? What are your thoughts on vaccine risks/benefits?

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I don't know where that article is from, but I am sure that the rubella vaccine is not made from aborted fetuses!!! That is just rediculous!

I strongly believe in vaccinating my children. The benefits far outweigh any risks.

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Here is another blog post about the rubella vaccines with links to lots of sources:

Vaccines and aborted fetal tissue

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If that article re: aborted fetuses is accurate, it indicates that the fetuses were aborted because they were exposed to rubella. So, these were infected fetuses, thus able to be used to create the initial strains.

Most any health measure, cure, surgical technique, etc., has been developed or built upon the death of others. That is just how medicine progresses.

Aside from that, I believe that vaccines are proven to keep our kids healthier and safer. There are always a small percentage of people who will have a side effect to anything - an aspirin, a Rx, whatever. But generations of people have safely had these vaccines. You don't have to get them done all at once - spread them out a bit. However, people who are no longer getting these vaccines are now putting others at risk, and many of these diseases are making a comeback. They can be life-threatening, so you are just exchanging one risk for another, IMO.

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The thing about a blog is that the author can write anything, whether it is correct or not. There is no accountability. If you want to do research, then you need to go to a medical website that is certified, or somewhere the author is obligated to only write/publish accurate information or the author is held to some type of accountability. I would suggest the American Academy of Pediatrics.

First of all, I wouldn't go to a church website for information on vaccinations.

Second, even IF the vaccines they list were derived from aborted fetuses, from what I could tell, those were fetuses that were aborted for the woman's personal reasons, not systematically conceived and then aborted for research purposes. I look at using aborted fetal tissue for research the way I do organ donation - if I'm going to have an abortion anyway, and there is a chance that the tissue could be used to develop a useful medication, then I don't see why it shouldn't be used.

I gave M'ija only the vaccines that were absoulutely required by our board of education in order for her to attend school - at the time, those were polio, MMR, DPT, and hepatitis B. Others were optional, and I opted not to get them, but to allow her immune system to do its job, especially since they weren't generally fatal diseases. I did not vaccinate her against chicken pox or HPV, and she has never had a flu shot in her life.

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In my opinion, the benefits far outweigh the risks. My MIL had polio as a child and it caused one of her legs to be shorter than the other. She has always had some problem with it, but several years ago she fell and broke the hip on her shorter leg. In order to repair it properly they had to lengthen the leg. She has had terrible problems since they did this. There are all kinds of people out there with similar stories.

You also have to consider that by not vaccinating your children you are enabling the reoccurence of many diseases that had not been seen for many years.

I do believe that it is a personal choice and that you have to decide what is right for your children, but I think that this is one case where benefits are greater than risk.

Have you considered not doing all of the vaccines? We delayed getting the varicella vaccine until the kids get ready to start school.

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DS(17 yrs old) was sent a letter by the school district telling him he needs an updated Tetnus shot before they will allow him to come back to school in September.
While i don't feel him NOT getting a tetnus shot is going to spread the plague thru the entire school and i think they are being a little ridiculous insisting that he get one.
He did tick me off this week with his laziness and not doing some chores i asked him to do, so i am keeping his appt. this afternoon for his shot!!

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What are your thoughts on vaccine risks/benefits? I think that vaccines are quite beneficial. If you are really that concerned, I would do an actual research yourself and not rely on someone's blog. Also, keep in mind, that scientific research changes almost daily. Things that were considered "healthy" 5 yrs ago might be all "dangerous" now and vice versa.

I am a big fan of looking at the big picture. There are a whole lot fewer epidemics (if any) and a whole lot less of infant deaths due to the many diseases that we are getting vaccines from.

I know that there is a big movement about vaccines and Autism, siting all kinds of research. But again, scientific research discovers new things all the time and some of the things that were discovered previously are no longer hold truth. I, personally, find it very hard to believe that such increase in Autism is due to vaccines. I think there is a whole slew of other problems that we are not dealing with, that bring all kinds of illnesses to our children. But that's a different topic.

Talk to different doctors and scientists if you want to really understand the issue. Don't believe everything you read on the internet.

Good luck!

I agree.

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