So today I found out that it is, apparently, no longer possible to get the ethical version of the vaccine for mumps or measles.
The vaccine that is offered is the combined MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine. In terms of ethics, the rubella vaccine is the worst offender. It was derived from the cells of two children whose mothers were advised to abort them because the mothers contracted rubella, which could cause complications for unborn children.
No more children will die if I did choose to vaccinate my daughter, but that's not something I'm willing to participate in. I don't think it's okay to benefit from murder.
I was actually kind of impressed by the doctor. When we were first deciding we had a list of ethical versus inethical vaccines put in Firstborn's folder. Well, I had just assumed they were following it until at her last visit they tried to give her MMR, which I knew was not ethically produced. Since then, though, they did try to get the ethical versions, even trying to order them from out of the country, but apparently they are no longer made and won't be for at least 2 years. The doctor would really prefer she were vaccinated, because Firstborn would apparently be at risk if she came into contact with children from other countries. And measles and mumps are bad. Apparently there haven't been any cases in our area recently, though there have been 2 in the US this year. So it doesn't seem like it's really risky....
I also refused chickenpox, but apparently a lot of people do that, and they didn't push too hard on that one. She did get Hib, pneumococcal, and dtap.
Firstborn is on antibiotics indefinitely for urinary reflux to prevent a UTI, which kills me too, and I know it can't be good for her. This is something she's likely to outgrow and they didn't test for up until recently. If she gets another UTI they want to do surgery--for a condition that will likely correct itself within a couple years.
I'm glad that we don't have to contend with epidemics. But I don't agree that it's okay to kill a child to prevent an epidemic. I don't think that my daughter needs to be on antibiotics--but I took drugs for more than half of my pregnancy that may well have saved my other little one's life.
Where is the line between the part of medicine that is a blessing, and overmedication?
Well, I guess that's something the government will be deciding....
Labels: babies, baby, medicine, vaccine
