Eleven Thrown in Prison for Refusing Vaccination

June 2, 2005

http://www.mercola.com/2005/jun/2/vaccine_refusal.htm

Eleven men in Mali were jailed after refusing to let their children

receive the polio vaccine. The men were charged with " resistance,

disobedience and rebellion against public authorities " and sentenced

to between six months and three years in prison.

The men, members of a Muslim sect, refused vaccination of their

daughters during a public health campaign because they believed it

would make their children sterile.

Polio, a viral disease that can cause irreversible total paralysis in

several hours, has reappeared in 13 African countries in the last two

years. It's thought that polio resurged in nearby Nigeria after a

northern state banned vaccines in mid-2003 because Muslim elders said

they were part of a plot to spread HIV and infertility. The

vaccinations resumed after 10 months.

Polio typically affects children under the age of 5; the vaccine works

by infecting the recipient with a benign virus and thereby providing

immunity to the harmful strain of the disease. At least five rounds of

national campaigns to vaccinate young children against polio are

scheduled this year in eight African countries that have been hardest

hit by the disease.

CNN May 11, 2005

Guest Comment by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny:

Dr. Sherri Tenpenny

The Mali incident reported by Reuters earlier this month is further

evidence of the resistance mounting to repeated mass oral polio

vaccination (OPV) in developing countries. Reading between the lines,

the somber report confirms the lengths to which the World Health

Organization (WHO), other international vaccination groups, and local

governments are willing to go to suppress the opposition.

Beyond the machinations of this report, the incident throws a

spotlight on the indifference these organizations have towards basic

human rights and personal liberties, and the ease at which they

obliterate these rights in the name of " health " and " protection. "

Review of Polio

Since early 2004, armies of vaccinators have marched along dusty,

winding streets from India to Nigeria, determined to inoculate every

child under the age of five. Although appearing virtuous in the eyes

of the world, the relentless vaccination program has resulted in some

menacing consequences: children in some regions of India were forced

to swallow up to 20 doses of the vaccine, since there is no way to

verify who had been vaccinated in earlier rounds. 1

Believing eradication of the polio virus is paramount to the health of

the African continent and hence the world, the WHO, in an Alice in

Wonderland-like twist of logic and sensibility, is planning to repeat

the 2004 program in 23 African countries, vaccinating more than 80

million children under age five -- again. And more than five (5)

campaigns are being planned.

The long term health ramifications of this action will remain unknown

as these children will not be followed to document any vaccine

injuries or complications. In addition to the health travesties that

will no doubt occur, serious penalties, including hefty prison

sentences, will be enforced for refusing the vaccine, as evidenced by

the events in Mali.

Eradication of Polio or Paralysis: What is the Goal?

But while Mali may be the first country to actually respond to

protesters with incarceration, heavy-handed sentiments and tactics are

apparently crossing borders. Last year, Botswana's High Court issued

an order giving police the authority to " access any house, vehicle,

school or property where it is suspected any children within the

specified age group are hidden for purposes of evading or frustrating

the National Polio Immunization Campaign. " 2 More recently, in April of

this year, prison sentences for refusing the vaccine were threatened

in the Katsina State in Northern Nigeria. 3

An important distinction must be pointed out. If the purpose of

eliminating the polio virus is to end childhood paralysis, then mass

vaccination programs will go on indefinitely because this goal is

simply unattainable. An astonishing number of viruses can cause acute

flaccid paralysis (AFP) including Coxsackie viruses, Japanese

encephalitis viruses, echoviruses, or enteroviruses.4 Clearly, mass

poliovirus vaccination programs will not eliminate paralysis.

Given that information, it's fair to conclude that the WHO is engaging

in double-speak when insisting that " polio epidemics must be

eradicated to prevent paralysis. " For example, the WHO recently

declared Egypt to be " on the threshold of eradicating poliovirus " 5,

implying the occurrence of polio -- and hence, paralysis -- would be

eliminated. However, in 1999, although there were only nine cases of

AFP due to poliovirus, 276 cases of paralysis were classified as

non-polio.

The Creation of More Non-Polio Viruses and More Paralysis

The WHO claims that repeated vaccination is harmless. However, it is

known that polio viruses have the ability to spontaneously combine

with other viruses, leading to the creation of new polio strains. The

repeated administration of the OPV creates a " favorable condition " for

combining with other polio-like viruses that may be living in the

intestinal tract of the vaccine recipient.6 The more doses of vaccine

that is given, the greater the likelihood that new viruses will form,

if for no other reason that more and more polioviruses are available

to " meet up " with non-polio viruses.

The oral polio vaccine is known to cause paralysis. In fact, the

overall rate of VAPP -- vaccine-associated paralytic polio -- caused

by the OPV in developing countries ranges between 1 case per 1.5

million doses administered (in Latin America) to 1 case per 4.6

million doses administered (in India).7 The National Institutes of

Infectious Disease admits that " paralysis associated with OPV or

caused by infection with circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses is

unavoidable so long as the oral polio vaccine is used. 8

The WHO continues to extend its projected date for polio eradication

because the method deployed for its elimination -- mass vaccination

through campaigns to through widespread use of National Immunization

Days -- is ineffective. The antibodies that are induced by the

vaccine-strain polio viruses are very specific to those particular

viruses. They would provide no protection for the new " combo-viruses. "

Hence, polio outbreaks -- caused by both vaccine-strain poliovirus and

new combo-strains poliovirus -- are continuing to occur around the

world most likely due to these campaigns. 9

Fighting the Resistance

It is highly possible that the large-scale vaccination program pushed

through Africa in 2003 by the WHO may be responsible for doubling the

number of African children who suffered from paralysis in 2004. It is

also possible the vaccine polioviruses and their potential

recombinants made their way into the water supply and spread to five

other countries (Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Ivory

Coast and Sudan) that had previously been certified as " polio-free. " 10

But as distressing as the public health issues may be, it would be

wrong to end this analysis without addressing the moral considerations

of the Mali arrests and imprisonments. Note that the " criminals " from

Mali were living " shut away in a sort of monastery " and were

exercising their right to refuse vaccination for religious reasons.

These were parents -- no different than you -- who simply tried to

protect their children from a procedure they did not want because they

felt that it was unsafe. And the government did not allow them to

refuse. Although this occurred outside the U.S., it serves as a

chilling example of how a government can force mandatory vaccination,

without exception and without exemption, on its people, and impose

stiff penalties for trying to refuse.

A foreboding message from Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), a physician, should

give us pause: " When we give government the power to make medical

decisions for us, we, in essence, accept that the state owns our bodies. "

Use the examples given here as jumping-off points to write your

Congressman and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi

Annan. Express your concern that government mandated vaccination is a

forced medical procedure and is tantamount to a depravation of human

rights. Mention that the $3 billion already spent globally for

eradication of the polio virus could have been better spent on food,

education and potable water in poor countries where the average wage

can be merely $1US per day.

And while you're at it, tell them that you want them to ensure you

always have the right to refuse vaccinations.

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Most readers of my newsletter need no introduction to Dr. Sherri

Tenpenny, as she has been a contributing editor on the vaccine issue

for several years. For that matter, many people throughout North

America have likely heard of her, too, as she has offered her

unparalleled insight on vaccines on countless health programs.

Her articles, such as " Expert " Believes Infants Can Tolerate 10,000

Vaccines and Smallpox Vaccines and Heart Disease, No " Coincidence, "

gives an idea of the range of her expertise and important insight.

With Vaccines: What CDC Documents and Science Reveal, though, you will

get all of the crucial information you need to protect you and your

loved ones from the dangers of vaccines in a two-hour video.

It's the culmination of Dr. Sherri Tenpenny's intensive four and a

half-year investigation into the real story behind vaccines. What's

more, you'll get it in a manner you can understand, and that's not

" dry " but actually engaging to watch.

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Eleven Thrown in Prison for Refusing Vaccination

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