A mother refusing to get her son vaccinated has been given one week to get him immunized. The state law requires children to be immunized, but will she remain unfazed even with the threat of jail time?
Legal Battle Over Vaccinations
Rebecca Bredow and ex-husband James Horne are facing a legal battle in court, but not for reasons you might think. As it turns out, it was their disagreement regarding their son's vaccinations or a lack thereof that was taken to court and the judge has evidently made a decision.
Bredow has been given a week by the County judge to get her son vaccinated and could face jail time if she does not comply. However, the mother of two is firm on her decision to not immunize her child.
"I would rather sit behind bars standing up for what I believe in, than giving in to something I strongly don't believe in," says Bredow.
The state law requires all children from public and private schools to possess a certificate of immunization. However, they do allow waivers for those with religious, medical, or philosophical issues.
To Vaccinate Or Not To Vaccinate
Before any of the legal battles began, Bredow and Horne had decided to simply space out and delay some of their son's vaccines. However, after educating herself on the studies regarding the dangers of vaccinations, Bredow decided to forgo vaccines altogether. Horne still wanted the immunizations.
In 2016, the court sided with Horne to have the child vaccinated. Because of the court order, Bredow is speaking out about her stand, stating that she feels as though her rights as a parent have been taken away. There is no word on whether Bredow has sought for a waiver, or on how long the jail time could be for Bredow should she refuse to comply.
Vaccination Recommendations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends parents to follow their immunization schedule to protect children from 14 serious illnesses by the time they are 2 years old. They state that though parents may worry about some side effects of vaccines such as redness and swelling, they are just mild and minor compared to the vaccine-preventable diseases that could even be deadly. Further, severe allergic reactions to vaccinations are considered as very rare.
In the United States, the vaccine-preventable diseases are considered rare, but the case is not the same for other countries. When unvaccinated citizens travel to these countries and get infected with the diseases, they are also putting other unvaccinated people at risk when they get home.
The CDC and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are working together to ensure the safety of vaccine development and application. As it stands, the United States has the safest vaccine supply in its history.
