Do you vaccinate your children?

Some people, including a Hoboken couple, believe vaccinations can do more harm than good. Next month, a Hoboken bar owner and her husband will hold an event to talk about “vaccines and health freedom rights.”
Here is their press release:
“The New Jersey Senate and Assembly are taking a close look at the Conscientious Exemption to Mandatory Immunization, Assembly bill 260 and Senate bill 1071. Pressured by an increasing number of parents and citizens concerned about the health risks of too many shots being forced on their children by the state, New Jersey legislators are at the center of a national debate that is not going away. ‘Vaccination is one of the most significant health decisions that parents make on behalf of their children,’ says Louise Kuo Habakus, a Middletown resident, leading member of the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice, (NJCVC), and a parent of two vaccine-injured children. On Sunday, April 26 at 4 p.m., Nine Lounge in Hoboken will host Habakus who will lead a seminar on informed consent in vaccination. The seminar, entitled ‘A Vaccination Seminar: What Choices Do Parents Have?’ is designed to help educate New Jersey residents on the choices available to them when making informed vaccination decisions.
“Melanie Dragone and her husband own Nine, a bar and lounge in Hoboken, which is hosting the event. A mother of two and licensed social worker, Dragone states, ‘I urge all parents to devote time to the research of vaccinations. As medical consumers, we have the right to ask questions of our health care providers and even to refuse state- mandated medical procedures. To make informed decisions for our families, we need to be empowered with the facts and weigh the risks and benefits of each vaccine.’ ”
“According to Dr. Lawrence Rosen, a board-certified pediatrician and Chief of Pediatric Integrative Medicine at Hackensack University Medical Center, ‘There are risks associated with all medical practices, including vaccines, so it is important for parents, along with their doctors, to evaluate an individual child’s medical history and health, including genetic predispositions and allergies, to determine what is appropriate. Informed consent is a key ethical principle in medical practice.’ ”
“The controversy remains a front burner issue for parents. On February 12, officials with the U.S. Court of Claims ruled against the first three of 5,500 claims of parents with autistic children, affirming that vaccines are not to blame for their children’s neurological disorder. Just one year ago, the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program compensated the Poling family after concluding that vaccines caused Hannah Poling’s autism. And on Feb. 25, it was disclosed that the Banks family received compensation in 2007 after it was determined that the brain damage caused by the MMR vaccine caused Bailey Banks’ autism. Parents find these conflicting verdicts and delayed news stories confusing. They are searching for answers on their own and with the help of local organizations such as the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice, of which Louise Kuo Habakus is a member.”
“Louise Kuo Habakus is a board-certified health practitioner and a former senior corporate executive. If you are interested in attending one of her talks, sponsoring a seminar or film in your community or being added to her distribution list, please send an e-mail to vaxRSVP@verizon.net. Upcoming seminars in 2009 include Middletown, NJ (3/10) and Bristol, PA (3/18). You can also hear Louise speak in Cherry Hill, NJ at the USAAA conference (5/2). For more information, go to www.njvaccinationchoice.org.”