TIPPING POINT: Parental Choice Goes Mainstream

Who started the so-called anti-vax movement. If it wasn’t for celebrity personality Jenny McCarthy making public anti-science statements starting in 2007, society wouldn’t have to deal with the scourge of anti-vaxxers she created. Yet even before McCarthy, it was British gastroenterologist and medical researcher Andrew Wakefield who is often credited for spawning the anti-science, anti-vax movement for finding a connection between human gut flora and brain function. Never mind the fact Wakefield’s findings are now widely accepted by mainstream science. Then there was that troublesome comedian and actor Rob Schneider who dared stand with the people in Sacramento, California during the entirety of their sustained, grassroots protest to stop Senate Bill 277 mandating forced vaccination. It was Jim Carrey’s statements and Twitter storms that ignited continuous controversy around toxic vaccine adjuvants and the troubled US Centers for Disease Control. Was it the one-two punch from both Schneider and Carrey that then infected fellow comedian Dave Chappelle to incorporate the topic of vaccines into his new popular Netflix special? It appears the anti-vax message knows no bounds as Hip Hop legend NAS has recently released his new Kanye-produced album Nasir with the single Everything; a track which appears to question vaccinations. And the latest blow to the modern-day miracle of vaccination is the influential celebrity tattooist-turned-make-up mogul, and mother-to-be, Kat Von D. When speaking about her hopes for her child’s upbringing, Kat Von D’s Instagram post included these wrong words, “…without vaccinations”

Where would the health of society be without influential celebrities, musicians, doctors and other public figures voicing their concerns about vaccination? The truth is, the movement towards parental choice, a return to informed consent and the call for greater scientific transparency can’t be blamed on any one person or group of prominent people speaking out. It is a movement with deep and historical roots.

Kat Von D is the latest in a line of influential people with large followings to voice common sense points. At the same time she has simultaneously joined the list of media-targeted individuals enduring a slew of hit pieces. Like those who came before her, the mainstream media quickly deployed their tired ‘How to Deal With An Anti-Vaxxer’ strategy upon Kat Von D. The strategy suggests first to connect Kat Von D’s comments to Andrew Wakefield. Next, blame her and others with similar views for lowering the mythical unicorn of herd immunity. Finally, attack her status and her ability to make a living, a tactic immediately deployed from outlets like TeenVogue who, with no proof, wrote “many” [of Kat’s fans]…are now boycotting her brand.”

Astroturf articles like the ones Kat Von D is now receiving also have a heavy appeal to authority sprinkled throughout by using phrases like “experts agree” and “the science is settled.” The continued and uneventful hit pieces are lazy journalism at best phoned-in by writers without the courage to investigate countless other angles, sound science and credible individuals who are shattering the false ‘safe and effective’ vaccine narrative.

Popular culture is just one point of attention echoing a larger symptom of growing populations who question vaccines, are concerned about the long-standing rap sheets of their pharmaceutical company manufacturers and abhor the current move to force for-profit medical products on people through newly passed laws.

More and more parents are making their own decisions by weighing the benefits and risks about the medical treatments their children receive. Parents don’t need to ask permission to decide what is best for their kids’ health and medical needs nor do they need to explain their choices to the government.

High-level scientific research has surged within the last decade to challenge many untruths and assumptions inherent within the current vaccine paradigm. Parental choice and a return to informed consent are populist views striking a chord for many doctors, nurses, political leaders and common people throughout the world. It is a message of fear, rather than understanding and balance, that the mainstream media and medical community appear to use while viewing mothers and fathers who voice their opinions about vaccination. Beyond the narrow, limited narrative crafted by mainstream media their also exists transparency and choice being widely accepted and entered into the discussion by millions around the world in response to their health and wellness.

More scientists and researchers are now actively questioning a vaccine industry and their products that were once beyond reproach. Many doctors have moved away from the once settled science of a one-size-fits-all vaccine paradigm to collaborate with parents and offer them individual care and treatment for their children.

In our modern world culturally spotlighting woman’s rights and embracing female sovereignty, why does both the medical community and mainstream media get a free pass to openly call for the persecution of mother’s who exert their right to parental choice?