Struggle

I'm going through a bit of a struggle lately. It's not my "normal" struggle but one that has persistently crept into my heart and won't leave. I'd like to think it's because God has planted it there for a reason. I know it's because He planted it there! It has opened up all sorts of questions and concerns.

It all began with one little form from my kid's school wellness office. It was a non-threatening note to remind me to get my kids immunizations updated. It is state law for my kids to have the whole gauntlet of vaccines or else they are excluded from school. These immunizations are for things like Pertussis, Meningitis, and, the dreaded Chicken Pox. What? It is state mandated for my children to be vaccinated against the Chicken Pox? Since when did the Chicken Pox become such a rampant source of death? Didn't our parents intentionally infect us with it when the neighbor kids got it? "Oh, Suzie has the Chicken Pox? We'll be right over and be sure that Suzie's pox aren't scabbed over yet!" Wasn't that how the conversation went for most of us?

Do I want my children (or anyone's children) to be in pain or to suffer with any kind of irritation? Absolutely not! Have we all gone a little ape doo-doo over this? In my opinion, YES! How many of you know what one of the active ingredients in the Varicella (Chicken Pox) vaccine is?
Varivax chickenpox Merck & Co., Inc.
varicella live virus neomycin phosphate, sucrose, and monosodium glutamate (MSG) processed gelatin, fetal bovine serum, guinea pig embryo cells, albumin from human blood, and human diploid cells from aborted fetal tissue

Is this acceptable? I've been going over to pray next to the abortion clinic for over 2 years now but I'm mandated by the state to legally inject my children with cells from aborted fetal tissue? Ummm...I spend quite a bit of money to send my kids to a Catholic grade school just so I don't have the state telling me what to teach my kids, when to teach my kids, and what to do with my kids. I know we don't live in a vacuum but I do think that it should afford me/us the right to control what is happening to our children. And, by the way, I feel it is only right that I tell you that I love my children's school - the priest is amazing, the principal is terrific, the teachers are great, the families are loyal. I, however, have a problem with vaccinating my children using vaccines with aborted tissue in them (hate the label tissue when referring to the children lost through abortion)

So, you think you're safe just avoiding the Varicella for those reasons? Think again...Rubella vaccines, Hepatitis A vaccines, Rabies vaccines, MMR vaccines, and MR vaccines all contain "human diploid cells from aborted fetal tissue". This does not even cover the amount of mercury that is in all vaccines. Yes, they are creating more and more vaccines without mercury but they are trading mercury for other "safer" radioactive ingredients.

Where do I go from here? The diocesan nurse called me as she was told that I have some issues with the vaccines. I love this woman - she is sweet and was kind and understanding throughout our conversation. However, she is in the medical profession and so I did get the standard line about it not being aborted fetal tissue - it comes from tissue from miscarried babies. Oh, well then ok! Yikes! I also got the warning that if there is an outbreak of disease, my kids will be excused from school. Really? I think if there is an outbreak of disease at the school, I'm gonna keep them home anyway! We've gone ape doo-doo!

I am really not trying to be a conspiracy-laden nut job! I want only the best for my children while also making informed decisions so that we all can go before God and say that we fought the good fight. To say that I feel like I'm on an island all alone, would not be too far from the truth. To say that I want my Church to stand up for the unborn and against the predatory abortion industry and say no to vaccines, would be entirely accurate!

The problem grows because I am constantly worried that someone might declare me an unfit mother or, worse yet (oh brother!), they might not like me! I guess that I should prepare myself for the points and the stares and the talk because I have a very large problem with vaccinating my children after all that I've read from reliable sources. (You may ask me for my sources if you'd like)

Oh yeah, I promise to keep my kids out of school in the event of an outbreak of disease. Good Lord, I pray we all would know to keep our kids out of school for such an event.

Let the mud-slinging begin!