FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Holly Blumhardt, California Mom of 3

Cell Phone: 949.484.4821

E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

AB 2109 Threatens Parental Rights, and Californians Aren’t Going To Take It

TUSTIN, CA - April 17, 2012 - The California Assembly of Health will be conducting a hearing on AB 2109 today at 1:30 PM in Sacramento.  AB2109 is a controversial bill that has many California parents in uproar over their parental rights.  AB2109 will force Californians to get an MD signature to allow parents to sign the CA vaccine exemption form.  California parents have been using the philosophical exemption for the past century for reasons against personal beliefs and as a religious exemption, as there is no religious exemption in California.  AB2109 will officially have a doctor validate whether or not a parent’s personal belief is worthy enough to get a philosophical exemption, essentially freedom with permission.  Many parents feel AB2109 violates their constitutional rights to exercise their philosophical beliefs exemption, makes medical decisions for their children, and it forces them to use an allopathic model of health care for their family, even if it is against how they currently seek medical care for their family.

In addition to the many concerns about violating parental rights, California parents are worried that they will run into issues trying to get the philosophical exemption signed, which in turn will affect their child’s ability to go to school.  Pediatricians won’t want to sign off on the exemption form because they won’t meet their quotas for vaccinated children to get their bonuses.  They will get reduced reimbursement rates from the insurance companies due to vaccination requirements, and they won’t want to sign the form because of liability concerns.  This bill will cause financial strain on some families depending on how many pediatricians they will have to visit to get a signature, and insurance companies most likely will not pay for the office visit to sign off on these forms due to the nature of the visit.  If parents can't get a signature on the form, their child won't be able to go to school without getting vaccinated.

“Most parents that choose not to vaccinate their child through this exemption, if not a religious decision, are extremely well educated on the manner, are sophisticated and savvy, and are making this decision in the best interest of their child.  I have been researching this issue for the past 15 years,” said Holly Blumhardt of Tustin.

Fundamentally, AB2109 violates Californians’ constitutional rights because parents are being forced to get PERMISSION to opt out of a voluntary medical procedure.  A doctor's signature is not necessary to prove that a patient has been educated.  If AB2109 is passed, it will set precedence for many other states and could eventually end the philosophical exemption across the board.  This bill could also set precedence regarding freedom to make other health care decisions as individuals and parents.

To find out more information, please visit http://www.change.org/petitions/the-ca-state-house-oppose-ab2109.

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If you’d like more information on this topic, or to schedule an interview with Holly Blumhardt, please call 949.484.4821 or e-mail Holly @ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Despite attempts to suppress the exploration and understanding on vaccine adverse reactions, it continues to move forward in the world of serious science.  We encourage those involved in this important research to attend the 2nd International Symposium on Vaccination and Autoimmunity that will take place during the 8th International Congress on Autoimmunity at the Palacio de Exposiciones y Congresos de Granada in Grenada, Spain on May 5th.

Researchers and physicians serious about vaccine adverse events are encouraged to attend.

April 2, 2012

To Whom it May Concern:

I have recently watched "The Greater Good". I found it balanced and thought-provoking. I hope many educators, administrators, and parents are able to view the film and begin a discussion about vaccinations in their communities.

Sincerely,

Beth Bergen

(Northern California math and science teacher for 17 years.)

CDC has announced that the autism rate is now 1 in 88 children and autism groups have called the Obama administration's handling of the autism epidemic a disaster. Press conference held to call for investigations, hearings, the declaration of an emergency, and the firing of government health officials.

New York, NY (PRWEB) April 02, 2012

The Canary Party and other grass roots organizations gathered today to demand drastic action in response to the government’s failures in addressing the autism epidemic, after CDC releases new autism numbers showing that the autism rate doubled in five years.

This morning, the Canary Party joined a group of grassroots autism organizations in a press conference in Manhattan to discuss how we have reached the catastrophic rate of 1 in 88 children, and 1 in 54 boys, having autism in this country. The Age of Autism, AutismOne, Autism Action Network, Autism File, The Canary Party, Center for Personal Rights, The Coalition for Safe Minds, Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy, Focus Autism, National Autism Association and Talk About Curing Autism have declared that this is a national health emergency, and that our government has failed us.

The video from the press conference can be found at http://CanaryParty.org.

The Canary Party and her partners believe that the current situation is intolerable and will not remain silent, watching more children and more families face the overwhelming burdens of autism. Together our groups are demanding that:

1.     Secretary Sebelius fire those who have been in charge of autism policies in this Administration. Dr. Insel, chair of IACC must be fired. The new members of IACC should all be dismissed, and the new Chair of IACC should commence a new search for committee members.

2.     Secretary Sebelius meet with a group of representatives from this coalition to discuss the autism health emergency. It is clear that the Secretary is disengaged and does not comprehend the urgency of this situation.

3.     The views of all presidential candidates on autism be are clear. President Obama called himself “the Autism President” in 2008 and said that he would help to solve the crisis. He will stand on his record. This is an issue that this community will vote on.

4.     The General Accounting Office study past autism funding to see why almost all money went to genetic research, which we now know, based on peer-reviewed science, is not the predominant factor – environment is. We want to understand if corporate interests or other improper interests distorted research priorities.

5.     Hearings in the Government Reform and Oversight Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives be held. It is time for Congress to examine the role of the federal authorities in this crisis. No Congressional committee has looked seriously at the conflicts of interest and inaction towards autism in almost a decade. As part of this process, Congress must examine the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and how it has been quietly acknowledging autism as a vaccine injury for almost 25 years. We need real inquiry by our representatives into this government debacle.

Canary Party Chairman Mark Blaxill, speaking on behalf of these organizations, representing tens of thousands of families, have committed to the public and to officials that, “We are not going away. We cannot. We all live with autism every day in one way or another. We will not stop pushing until we get accountable leadership and until we reverse this devastating epidemic.”

Video of the press conference:

1 in 88 incidence in Autism press release from ZenWorks Productions on Vimeo.

Portions of live stream are below, full video of the conference coming shortly.