I am having a problem getting my daughter's school to allow her to attend on account of her not being vaccinated. It was my understanding that a letter stating religious reasons was sufficient as well as the only legal reason to not vaccinate. The school is now requesting a letter from a religious institution. Any suggestions? Similar experiences?
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Re: Help! Anyone not vaccinating kids in NJ?
Tue, August 21, 2007 - 1:09 PMthe thing about the vaccination exemptions is that every state does it differently, and every state is allowed to dictate what is required to get out of it. do you have an issue getting a letter from your religious institution, or is it that you don't have an.... institution, per se?
all fifty states allow you to do it for medical reasons. but not all of them allow you to do it for religious or philosophical reasons. some states require like, physical evidence (such as a letter), but some you can do it over the phone. i would suggest, if you're really into it, that you find out from your legislature what your recourse is. there have been some cases where a school does it to try to sort of.... "force" (although that's too strong a word) you to just cave and get the vaccinations. you may or may not really need a letter.
my best friend had issues registering for school every time, whether it was grade school or college. her mother believes that vaccines can cause autism, so she is able to quote the law to any school official that tries to bully her. :D
may i ask why you choose not to vaccinate? i believe in it 100%, but i also believe in a person's right to choose what goes in and out of their child's bodies. i would strongly suggest you do the pertussis shot, though. there are epidemics in the united states right now, and kids are very susceptible to permanent and even fatal effects if they should contract the disease.
a lot of the other vaccines i can take or leave, but i'm pro-prophylaxis. the only one i opted to not get my kids is varicella, because i'm just not convinced of its long-term efficacy. and by the way, i'm in nursing school. i just took a microbiology class, where my end-project was the new HPV vaccine. so i'm not just talking out of my butt or anything. ;)
you know what, i just googled "new jersey vaccination exemptions" and found this:
www.909shot.com/state-site/NewJersey.htm
basically, you have to submit a letter stating how a vaccination interferes with the basic tenets of your religion, but you can't use a general or moral excuse, even if it's religious. so you'd have to prove how vaccinating your children interferes with your religion's fundamental beliefs. it seems that you as a parent submitting the letter is sufficient; it doesn't say it has to be from your priest/pastor/vicar/what-have-you. i'd still double-check the exact words of the law, but it sounds like a letter from you should be sufficient. just be specific, i guess. and good luck! -
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Unsu...
Re: Help! Anyone not vaccinating kids in NJ?
Tue, August 21, 2007 - 2:01 PMI really don't believe I need to get my child vaccinated, nor do I believe it is the healthiest option. I too believe in a parent's right to choose and do not think any less of someone for choosing to do something that I would not. I really didn't want to open this up as a vaccination debate, but rather to see if anyone in NJ has experienced anything similar. NJ offers exemptions for religious and medical, and you are not permitted to have some vaccinations and not others. I did do my homework, but I was wondering if anyone found a loophole! Thanks! -
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Re: Help! Anyone not vaccinating kids in NJ?
Tue, August 21, 2007 - 4:40 PMcopy this and hand it over.
Statement Of Religious Objection To Immunization
In accordance with NJ State Statute 26:1A-9.1 1974, and Section 8:57-4.4
N.J.A.C. 1995, I hereby certify that the administration of vaccine and other
immunizing agents to my child, INSERT CHILDS NAME HERE, is contrary to my
Religious beliefs, held either individually or jointly with others, and I
therefore request that my child be exempted from the school immunization
requirements of NJ State Statute 26:1A-9 1974, and Section 8:57-4.1 N.J.A.C.
1995.
We believe in God, and that God has created us in his image. In being
created in God,s image, we are given his perfect immune system. We are
bestowed with His gift, the immune system. I believe it is sacrilegious and
a violation of my sacred religious beliefs to violate what God has given us
by showing a lack of faith in God. Immunizations are a lack of faith in God
and His way, the immune system. I believe that receiving immunizations shows
God that I have no faith in His promises of protection for us, saying that I
trust man more than His holy words of protection for us. We believe in
Jesus, and his many promises of protection for us if we place our trust in
Him.
My religious beliefs are also based upon the understanding of what God
requires of them as provided for in the Bible.
1 Corinthians 8:6
Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for
whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and
through whom we exist.
2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1
For we are the temple of the living God; and God said, " I will live in them
and move among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Therefore come out from them and be separate from them, and be separate from
them, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean; and I will welcome you, and
I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the
Almighty." Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves
from every defilement of body and spirit, and make holiness perfect in the
fear of God.Romans 14:14
I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself;
but it is unclean for any one who thinks it unclean. 1 Corinthians 12:24-27
But God has adjusted the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior
part, that there may be not discord in the body, but that the members may
have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer
together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are in the
body of Christ and individually members of it.
1Corinthians 11:29-30
For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks
judgement upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some
of you have died.
Mark 2:17
And hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who
need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the
righteous, but sinners."
Mark 10:26-28
And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him " Then who can be
saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not
with God; for all things are possible with God."
1 Corinthians 2:5
That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of
God.
Mark 5:34
And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and
be healed of your disease." Ephesians 2:8-10
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own
dong, it is the gift of God - not because of works, lest any man should
boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for goods works,
which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Psalms 91:11
For he will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways.
Isaiah 58:11
And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your desire with good
things, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
I swear that all the foregoing statements are true to the best of my
information, knowledge and belief.
_________________________________________________ _____________________
John Smith - Father DATE
_________________________________________________ _____________________
Jane Smith - Mother DATE
Subscribed and Sworn before me this ________ day of _____________________,
1998.
___________________________________________ ATTORNEY'S -
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Re: Help! Anyone not vaccinating kids in NJ?
Tue, August 21, 2007 - 4:44 PMTOUCHE !
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Re: Help! Anyone not vaccinating kids in NJ?
Tue, August 21, 2007 - 5:16 PMbada bing! wow! i'm so copying/printing this! -
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Unsu...
Re: Help! Anyone not vaccinating kids in NJ?
Wed, August 22, 2007 - 5:20 AMYou would think this would be enough!!!! They still want an official letter from an organized religion. Unfortunately, I am not part of one. I hate lying but I also don't want to be bullied into giving shots to my baby girl! Thanks everyone! -
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Re: Help! Anyone not vaccinating kids in NJ?
Wed, August 22, 2007 - 9:39 AMI am an ordained minister. PM me off list and I'll write whatever you need for it. -
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Re: Help! Anyone not vaccinating kids in NJ?
Wed, August 22, 2007 - 10:35 PMIf Stef's letter doesn't work, I wonder if you could find a simpathetic Jehovah's Witness to write you a letter. Or a Menonite? Or a Whadya call them with the bonnets and the wagons? maybe that would be a stretch. But a JW might just do it if you promise to read their magazine....
and by the way, this whole thing is ridiculous! -
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Unsu...
Re: Help! Anyone not vaccinating kids in NJ?
Thu, August 23, 2007 - 4:39 AMUUUGH!!! I know. Turns out the only letter I can get is from my ex's mother's old pastor. He agreed to write a letter stating that he and the church support but don't perscribe to that particular religious belief. That's gonna have to do. His uncl is a lawyer, he's gonna sign it and I will submit a copy of a supreme court decision that deemed it unconstitutional to inquire on the religious institution. Seperation of church and state HELLO!!!!!! I am going to start my own church of "STAY THE FUCK OUT OF MY FAMILY'S BODY AND LET HER GO TO SCHOOL!!!" Has a nice ring to it... -
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This is the maximum depth. Additional responses will not be threaded.
Re: Help! Anyone not vaccinating kids in NJ?
Thu, August 23, 2007 - 6:31 AMListen, the school can try to bully you all they want, BUT...
NJ has very specific laws about allowing "religious exemptions" from vaccinating your child. Also, from my digging around, i cannot find any specific overriding Federal Law about REQUIRING anyone but immigrants to vaccinate their children.
Don't take ANY shit from them. Stand your ground and keep the mindset of The Government cannot force involuntary mediation on its people. They are breaking the law if they MAKE you vaccinate. Tell them that. Cite the code that is presented in that sample letter above.
If it's any consolation to you, I have a 12 year old who isn't vaccinated and has (unfortunately) gone to about 8 different schools in her life, both in Oregon and Washington. We've never had to fight. -
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Re: Help! Anyone not vaccinating kids in NJ?
Thu, August 23, 2007 - 6:34 AMum that would be "force involuntary medication"
not mediation.
gee that would change things in this country wouldn't it?
*need
*more
*coffee
*asap -
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Unsu...
Re: Help! Anyone not vaccinating kids in NJ?
Thu, August 23, 2007 - 8:32 AMHow about "force involuntary meditation" ? Thank you so much for your support. Sometimes that's all I need. EVERYONE I know here vaccinates. She was born in CA, at home, nursed for 2 years, I'm already a freakshow by Jersey standards, I would love so much to not fight! -
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Unsu...
Re: Help! Anyone not vaccinating kids in NJ?
Tue, August 28, 2007 - 11:48 AMUPDATE! I am days away from the first day of school and am about to become a member of the Church of Christian Science just to get exempted, when I find The Congregation of Universal Wisdom. It was formed by Chiropractors in NJ. You pay a fee, and you are a member. They ship express mail certification and a religious exemption letter....Fingers Crossed!!!!! -
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Unsu...
Re: Help! Anyone not vaccinating kids in NJ?
Tue, September 4, 2007 - 3:35 PMUPDATE UPDATE!!! Got my letter on time, she's in school, drama over. Now all I have to worry about is avoiding kooties and fart jokes. Life is good. -
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Re: Help! Anyone not vaccinating kids in NJ?
Thu, September 6, 2007 - 12:15 AMcongratulations!
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Re: Help! Anyone not vaccinating kids in NJ?
Thu, February 28, 2008 - 8:22 PMYOUR RIGHTS TO AVOID IMMUNIZATIONS
By: James R. Filenbaum, Esq.
Excerpted from Innovation, Spring 2000 issue
A great deal of concern regarding immunizations has recently been given considerable media attention. While many people are now looking at alternative information sources as to the choice of whether to have their children immunized, their rights are often not clearly explained. As an attorney who has represented many people who have secured exemptions from immunizations, and has won the leading Federal Court cases which have expanded peoples' rights to claim exemptions from immunizations, I have become particularly familiar with this area of the law.
Most States only allow an exemption from immunizations for children attending school based upon religious beliefs or by a licensed physician signing a certificate indicating that the immunizations are contraindicated. Some States have taken a more liberal approach in the enactment of statutes that allow for children to be admitted into school attendance based upon the parents' request for an exemption.
Securing the medical exemption is extremely difficult since only those criteria approved by the American Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics as contraindication for each immunization are considered valid by school districts or Health Departments. Therefore, requests for exemptions for medical reasons are extremely limited.
Valid claims for exemption from immunizations based upon religious beliefs now encompass PERSONAL religious beliefs. This is a much broader base than was possible before we won several landmark cases. A great number of people fail to utilize this right to a religious exemption because they view religion in traditional terms and do not feel the exemption can apply to them because they are not members of a specific church, such as the Christian Scientists.
Religion goes far beyond simple membership in a church, attendance of services, adherence to prescribed dogma, or participation in various rituals. While an exact definition of what would constitute a "religious belief" varies depending upon what purpose is being applied to the use of the word "religion in", pursuing a claim for a religious exemption from immunizations the standard which must be considered is that which is established by the United States Supreme Court. Therefore, in adherence to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantee of freedom of religion, the test in determining whether a belief constitutes a "religious belief" sufficient to qualify for the religious exemption from immunizations, is whether the adherents' beliefs and faiths occupy a place in their lives parallel to that filled by the orthodox belief in God held by others; or any other "sincere religious beliefs which are based upon a power or being, or upon a faith to which all else is subordinate or upon which all else is ultimately dependent." U.S. Vs. Seeger, 380 U.S. 163 (1965), Sherr and Levy vs. Northport East-Northport Union Free School district, 672 F.Supp. 81, (E.D.N.Y. 1987)
The right to claim exemption from immunization based on religious beliefs is available to all persons who hold religious beliefs against immunization regardless of what any state statute may say regarding the necessity for membership in any particular religious group or church.
The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits states from discriminating between people based on their religious beliefs. If there is any state law that allows for exemption based on religious beliefs, it is available to all those people who hold religious beliefs against immunization even if their beliefs are personal and unique to them alone.
