HPV vaccination and the coercion of our 13 year old diabetic daughter

We are a bit shaken up over the HPV Vaccination, sometimes called the HPV Jab. It supposedly immunises young women against sexually transmitted disease that can lead to genital warts and cervical cancer but is not yet proven. However, for a number of reasons, my wife and I "opted out" by checking the 'No' box on the consent form, and our 13 year old daughter also decided NOT to get the jab. We figured with both parents and daughter against the idea, the jabbing would pass us by. But then she went to school and some anonymous doctor jabbed her anyway.

We have no overt moral or spiritual issue with the immunization itself and, along with the FRC, we don't believe that the HPV immunisation necessarily leads to promiscuity. We do, however, have a problem with mandatory or coerced vaccination against the will of the child or the parents. But we were told we could "opt out" so we didn't give it much thought.

On the day, our 13 year old daughter, who by the way has Type-1 Diabetes, was taken aside from the other girls and told by the doctor that she was the only girl in her year who had handed in a consent form with a cross in the 'No' box. As they started to talk, and without being asked if she wanted it, the doctor jabbed her.

We have serious issues with this relatively untested and unproven drug Cervarix. Finding answers to basic questions like "How will it affect our Type-1 diabetic pre-adolescent daughter?" has proven impossible for us and I can only assume, unless the one of the 158 pre-adolescent [10-14 year] test candidates had Type-1 diabetes, that our daughter is now the gullible guinea pig who will test this product for the much larger international market.

On the internet we call that "beta testing", although we are talking about our daughter, not a new web application.

"Coerced vaccination is not justified because there is no public health emergency. Similarly, forcing an intervention over an adolescent's objections is not justified because it fails to respect the adolescent as a maturing individual." BMJ (British Medical Journal)

We shared our story with a social worker and he suggested reporting it to the police as a case of abuse. We went over to our school today to discuss it with them. The head teacher was shocked and apologetic and offered to talk to the NHS. Obviously the school is not to blame and has been kept in the dark.

The BMJ suggested that "the most controversial situation is when an adolescent seeks the vaccine without parental permission." But even more controversial is what happened to our child in Scotland, when the vaccination was given AGAINST the written permission of both the parents AND against the will of the adolescent, or in this case, the pre-adolescent.

Opting Out
The Government says that the vaccine will be offered to all girls in the selected age range but that parents will be given the opportunity to "opt out" if they do not want their child to receive the jabs. "It will be voluntary" the Telegraph reports, and yet the paragraph following states that "non-compliance" could undermine the project.

I guess we were "non-compliant"
but I like to think of it as "pro-choice".

I was thinking that maybe we could have prevented the abuse of our daughter by not sending in the consent form at all. But then we chatted with one of our kid's friends who also got jabbed, despite her not wanting it and despite her father refusing to sing the consent form. I guess we are not the only ones.

Can We Really Opt Out? The brochure given to the 12-13 year olds called "Arm Against Cervical Cancer" [download as PDF] promises that parents can "opt out". It reads:
"You may be given a consent form that your parents should sign giving permission for you to have the vaccination. It’s important that you return the signed form before your vaccination is due. If your parents are not sure that you should have the vaccination you should still return the form and speak to your nurse, doctor or other healthcare professional. Having the vaccination now will help protect you against the most common causes of cervical cancer for many years."

What does that mean, anyway? If your parents say 'No', then you should speak to the medical professionals to get a second opinion? Sounds like we were outranked by someone with a stethoscope around their neck!
But surely its illegal, even in this country, to ignore the parents consent when the 'young woman' involved has only just turned 13 years old?

So, from our experience with the first jab, this is how it looks to me:
- If your daughter refuses the vaccination, she is young and incapable of making the right decision so JAB HER ANYWAY. [So says Dr Frank on Yahoo Answers]
- If your parents refuse to permit the vaccination, they are old and too stupid to make the right decision so JAB HER ANYWAY.
- If both daughter and parents refuse the vaccination, JAB HER ANYWAY and hope that no one says anything.

Any way you look at it, our daughters are going to get jabbed unless they have the gumption to stand up for their right to choose for themselves. Or someone else stands up for them. Or we keep them out of school on the jabbing day.

Side Effects?
The brochure suggests the side effects are " quite mild – usually just stinging and soreness in the arm that soon wears off. Hundreds of thousands of young women in the USA and other countries have already had their vaccinations. Studies have shown that the vaccination is very safe." But what the brochure doesnt tell you about those young women in the USA is that over 20 died and thousands of others now have serious permanent injuries.

After the jab, our daughter and 2 friends had immediate side effects, including a hot and cold flashes and dizziness, but they was told it was in their minds. Headaches have continued almost daily since the jab and a few days ago she had a very serious seizure during the night. We were just glad she was sleeping in our bed. She slept in our bed last night also, just in case another seizure happened, and she will probably sleep in our bed again tonight. And we dont really know if the seizure or headaches are related to the jab or rather to her diabetes. But we are still worried and information is scarce.

My advice?
1. Do Your Own Research!
2. Find information websites that allow comments and stories of real people who are not paid to say only positive things about HPV vaccinations.
3. If you don't want your daughter jabbed, or if she doesnt want to get jabbed, don't send her to school on the day of jabbing because the permission form might not be worth the paper it is written on.
4. Make a copy of your consent form before your daughter hands it in and it disappears into space.
5. If your story is similar to ours, tell someone.

Read on to see some of the things I found about about this vaccination.

Technorati Tags: cancer jab, cervarix, cervical cancer, family research council, genital warts, hpv, human papillomavirus virus, immunisation, immunization, jab, nhs, std

More info
Having done a little research to see exactly what substance they shot into our daughter's arm, we are a little worried. And we have a feeling we are not the only ones. If you are looking for more information on the subject, this is what I have found so far:

The HPV immunization process is rolling out across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. They are starting with Scottish 12-13 year old girls, like our daughter, and then working upwards over the next few years.

From what I have read, HPV stands for human papillomavirus which affects the skin and mucous membranes. There are about 130 types but about 30-40 HPV types are typically transmitted through sexual contact and some may cause genital warts. Persistent infection with "high-risk" HPV types may progress to lesions and cervical cancer. Wikipedia suggests the Cervarix vaccinations given in the UK protect against two types of HPV (16 and 18).

But there is no proven clinical evidence that it actually works and the side effects, if similar to Gardasil in USA, might be dangerous and even fatal.

It reminds me of the movie Idiocracy.
Attorney General: “Brawndo’s got what plants crave.”
Secretary of Energy: “Yeah, it’s got electrolytes.”
Joe: “What are electrolytes? Do you even know?”
Secretary of State: “It’s what they use to make Brawndo.”
Joe: “Yeah, but why do they use them to make Brawndo?”
Secretary of Defense: “‘Cause Brawndo’s got electrolytes.”
[Script] [MP3]

I agree with Alan Johnson of the Department of Health who said "prevention is always better than cure" but the vaccination is not the only way and it is not even the best way to prevent infection. The Cancer Society has said that "the vaccines don't prevent infection with all types of HPV" and the best form of prevention is either abstinence from sexual activity and/or a monogamous relationship with an uninfected individual. Why cant the medical authorities offer the possibility of abstinence or fidelity as a reasonable alternative to the vaccination? Why cant they even mention it in their publications? Its that "non-compliance"?

Some quotes
"Twenty girls died within a few days of receiving Gardasil, which has a similar make-up to Cervarix, although the deaths were dismissed as coincidence by the manufacturer, Merck." Why I won't let my girls have these cancer jabs

“This big push is making people crazy — thinking they’re bad moms if they don’t get their kids vaccinated,” Dr. Abby Lippman, McGill University, BlogDial: Sticking it to the kids

The Department of Health refused to reveal the cost of the vaccine, which it said was "commercially confidential" Telegraph

Some answers
In the USA, HPV immunization is required of immigrants seeking a green card but not of citizens. But there are some public schools pushing for mandatory vaccination for their students. Gardasil is the drug of choice. The Family Research Council has an excellent resource page on HPV with a page of questions and answers. These three questions seemed most appropriate.

Q: How is genital HPV infection associated with cervical cancer?
A: Sexually transmitted HPV has been shown to be present in virtually all cases of cervical cancer and is the leading cause of cervical cancer. High risk HPV types 16 and 18 cause 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. [Human Papillomavirus: HPV Information for Clinicians, PDF, page 1]
Q: How can a person be best protected from acquiring genital HPV?
A: Limiting sexual activity to the context of one faithful and monogamous long-term relationship with an uninfected individual is the single most effective method of preventing HPV infection.
Q: Does FRC support mandatory HPV vaccination?
A: No. We feel that a mandate infringes on the right of parents to make decisions regarding their children's medical care. Since genital HPV is not spread by casual contact, but rather is a sexually transmitted infection, there is not sufficient public health justification to require vaccination for school attendance. It may also lead them to believe that the vaccine is the only available way to reduce the risk of cervical cancer, which is untrue.

Some links worth checking out
Pharmalot reports: A Catholic school banned the immunisation on its premises
Serious Health Concerns about the cervical cancer jab, Mail Online
Parents Refuse "Cervarix" cervical Cancer Jab, Trusted, MD
BBC article shows that Cervarix won over Gardasil in the UK.
The Times has a good article.
Vaccination of schoolgirls for HPV using Cervarix ® should be stopped. NOW

I have some questions:
Why are they jabbing our kids in the schools by anonymous medical teams when our family doctor, who we know and trust, could adminster or at least oversee the vaccinations?
Why use the schools when the school authorities are completely powerless and cant even tell us when the next jabbing will occur?
Why sign and submit a permission slip when the doctor is going to jab them anyway?
Why is the government and the NHS so insistent that everyone get jabbed with a relatively new and untested vaccine?
Has the vaccine ever been tested on young girls with Type-1 diabetes like my daughter and what were the results?
And most importantly, Are there any other parents out there who chose to "opt out", crossed the "No" box on their consent form, and yet watched their daughter come home from school rubbing her arm?

Found some errors in this post? Correct it yourself

Comments

[Peggy]

Andrew,

My blood boiled hotter with each paragraph. I hope that you take this outrageous experience to the very top. This is totally unacceptable.

We are a non-vaccinator family, so we know about the challenges. There are some east coast states who are making it illegal to refuse immunizations. That is so scary!

As to your daughter, I would like to suggest that (if you haven't already) you find a good constitutional homeopath (I hope you have one there on the Island...there are so many more in the UK than in the US) and get her a dose of Thuja, which is the primary remedy for side effects to immunizations -- or whatever the homeopath thinks is best for her symptoms.

I would track that JABBING doctor down and have his license revoked! Amazing!

Praying for your daughter...and you and Debbie!

[tk]

holy cow andrew.
i'm so sorry!!! that's rubbish that they would treat [her] that way! and jabbing is an appropriate name for that immunization. i can't believe they would have the audacity to jab her without YOUR and DEBBIE's consent much less hers. i hope that you are able to get the police to do something about this- because that's just WRONG.

i will pray for abigail- for her safety, her health, and her heart with all that has happened. i pray the peace of christ be on you and your family despite the latest incident.

[Makeesha]

oh Andrew, I'm so sorry, that's just appalling! I'm furious on behalf of your family. Praying for full recovery and emotional healing from such an inexcusable violation.

[kristen]

Good Lord, this makes me want to rip my hair out and throw heavy objects across the room. As parents, you both opted out, your daughter opted out, and under the guise of a "discussion" your daughter gets jabbed anyway. That would make me certifiably crazy. Don't even get me started on this.

I hope you follow up as far as you can go on this. And document EVERYTHING. Write it down and keep a complete record of everything that happened and that is happening - any requests you have made for info (especially if you never get it) your interactions, exactly what people said, their names and positions, and everything that happens to her medically.

I can pretty much guarantee the powers that be will try to weasel out of their responsibility, whether that means they will dispute the things you say or conveniently lose their documentation. There will be a greater burden placed on your ability to prove what's going on. If there's one thing I've learned from working the business side of health care (I worked in the office at a birth center for 2 1/2 years), it's that if there is a dispute about something, everyone goes straight to the records. If you don't have them, you're screwed.

So sorry this has happened to your family. I am definitely praying for all of you.

[Joshua Jones]

I can't believe this! Like many of the comments before me, I shook my head more and more as I read your posting.

If it were me, I would request a sit down conversation with the Doctor to see what was going through his head, and than possible legal action.

You & your family are in my prayers.

[Tucker]

Thank you for sharing your family's story and the detailed research on the topic. We have two daughters and have not been entirely against immunization, but we do have deep concerns for a number of reasons. In my opinion, the bigger issue here is with that doctor (and maybe a system) that tends to disregard the wishes of both the parents and their children. That really bothers me. My desire is that the "jabber" gets the appropriate consequences. More importantly I desire that your daughter is not adversely affected short or long term.

[Joshua Rudd]

Infuriating. Heads need to roll on this one.

[cynthia]

Andrew and Debbie -So sorry about your daughter - extremely violating. Glad you are drilling down. One of the categories on my blog is called "Medical Injustice" -being gracious as I have other terminology in mind. I've had more than my share - believe me - then you start hearing about everyone else's major mishaps. Start drilling down and you find corrupt Big Pharma and Big chemical like Monsanto imposing their agendas at the expense of personal freedoms and committing atrocities against humanity for the bottom line. I highly recommend Mercola.com newsletter - best info RE - and meet millions of others who have suffered various forms of Pharma/ medical injustice - and yes the stories do make your blood boil.

[Julie Garrett]

Go to the Police immediatly. This is Assault plain and simple. If your daughter had been assaaulted like this in the street you would have been down the police station straight away.

Get to the Police station NOW....

[cynthia]

more thoughts (always react on this topic) - loaded question:
Why is the government and the NHS so insistent that everyone get jabbed with a relatively new and untested vaccine?

Schools can act as a medical authority by diagnosing a kids inability to sit still (learning style) as ADHD. Parents have been arrested for abuse by refusing to administer ADHD meds (another grand scale human experiment) because of adverse reactions. Why do they want our kids (and their parents) to believe they can't get through life w/o relying on some sort of drug. Another question: How can people buy into blatant corporate propaganda and government control?

[cynthia]

more thoughts (always react on this topic) - loaded question:
Why is the government and the NHS so insistent that everyone get jabbed with a relatively new and untested vaccine?

Schools can act as a medical authority by diagnosing a kids inability to sit still (learning style) as ADHD. Parents have been arrested for abuse by refusing to administer ADHD meds (another grand scale human experiment) because of adverse reactions. Why do they want our kids (and their parents) to believe they can't get through life w/o relying on some sort of drug. Another question: How can people buy into blatant corporate propaganda and government control?

[kiwipaddy]

As a teacher in a scottish school this infuriates me but sadly doesn't surprise me. the attitudes within schools towards the rights of the child and the rights of parents are continually breached and it often presents moral dilemas for me personally and professionally.

I can only suggest the following:

a) remove your child immediately
b) report this as an assault in its own right
c) keep a detailed diary of the incident while it is fresh in your mind and encourage your daughter to do the same (ask no leading questions - just ask for her response to events and her feelings about them)
d) report the incident to the ethics committee of the health board.

If not for your own child for others who may be facing the same situation.

What happened was illegal: it goes against her human rights, your rights as first educators of your child and amounts to assault in an environment which should protect her and her rights, not violate them.

[iggy]

I wonder if this was a case of sexual abuse or other type would the school still not be responsible? Seriously if the school did not know that this "dr" was doing this, they need to be taken to task for their own lack of responsibility for who they let "abuse" the child in their care.

I would suggest getting legal advise right away.

As far as "in your head"... I have diabetes also. I have been a guinea pig for many new developments. Some of the medications were not even for diabetes but for cholesterol. I took myself off of Lipator as it was causing major muscle pains. In this case I was told repeatedly that this was not a side effect... until I read the "effects" in a Readers Digest advertisement that state it was.

Doctors do not know everything. In this case I would look to take that "dr" and school to court over their doing and allowing this to happen.

I might add I have gone back and forth over the immunization issue. In fact after doing research I am not convince it is all that good.

Funny thing is that in the USA a diabetic is advised to get the Flu vac... I opt out and seem to not get as sick as some. Also, people I know have had other health issues that bar them from the vaccine... yet they are told repeatedly to get vaccinated. My mother had Gillian Barre syndrome and cannot take flu vaccines, yet yearly she is told to do it... and they seem to get angry with her when she says "no". One of my fears as she gets older is that she might not remmeber to say no and go into relapse... as GB is deadly.

We should have a choice. But a real choice should be with the full knowledge of what is taking place or could happen.

It would be sad to hear that many of these girls are now sterile as the drug was found to actually harm them...

Thanks for getting this out and I am so sorry it happened to you and your family...

My prayers are with you.

iggy

[Mark]

Andrew,

I showed this post to my wife who is a hospital doctor. She was horrified.

Her reaction is that this is illegal and you should definitely take it further. The only time treatment can legally be given without consent is if the patient is unconscious or otherwise unable to give consent AND the treatment is immediately necessary to save their life (note, it MUST be unable to wait - life and death - until they can give consent). Otherwise it's assault, plain and simple.

This is a shocking thing to have happened. Sorry to read about it.

[Paul D. Watson]

Andrew,

I am angry for you and your family. The Doctor's actions were a violation of you and your family's rights. I have two kids and the thought gives me chills and makes my blood boil at the same time.

I'm praying for your daughter's heath through all of this.

Blessings,
Paul

[Peggy]

I say that the next JABBING in your neck of the woods needs to be accompanied by some kind of a staged protest ... definitely something scary enough for Halloween, eh?

Still praying....

[Paul Roberts]

That's appalling Andrew. If you were so minded, I suspect you could get a case against the doctor for assault. A complaint in writing, first to the school and then to the local PCT may be a more appropriate first course of action, however. A letter will demand a response. If you are still concerned about your daughter, you could then pass any correspondence through to a solicitor and ask advice. Hang onto any paperwork you may already have.

[Fr. Simon]

Although I am sure that the vaccine itself is okay, and that your daughter will be safe, I am completely outraged at the violation of your daughter by that medic.

To vaccinate without consent is assault, and that practitioner should be forced to be investigated by the GMC. It is a serious disciplinary offense.

Consent is at the core of all medical interventions, and no person has the right to override the decisions of an individual, either legally (yourselves) or morally (your daughters).

Press the matter, and take it up with firstly your health board and secondly with the GMC who have a complaints procedure. Ensure you have documented everything (although it appears you have, well done). This isn't really negligence (although to override consent is quite negligent), but medico-legal arrogance which must be stood up to.

Prayers and Blessings

S+

(who spent a lot of his life as a Registered Nurse, so takes the patient consent-thing very seriously)

[andrew jones]

thanks for encouragement everyone. there is no paperwork right now because our consent form was handed in to the school and these were taken away.

i will see tomorrow what happened to all those permission slips.

what i am really hoping to achieve in this post, however, is to give a voice to others who might have a similar story.

[Suzy]

That is absolutely appalling! I am really shocked. They have started these vaccinations in Wales too, but it hasn't really affected me yet as my daughter is only 6. So I hadn't put very much thought into the rights and wrongs of it. But whatever opinion I come to in the end, I would be furious if they went against my decision. It's crazy. I hope no physical harm comes to your daughter, and that something can be done to stop this happening in future.

[John Smulo]

Andrew,

We've been thinking through this with our daughter in the US. Thank you for blogging about it, and for giving more information.

I'm very sorry to hear your daughter and family has experienced this. The person who gave her the shot needs to be held accountable.

[linda]

this really is terrible. has your daughter ever had a seizure before? that is serious and i will pray for her. i think you should make a big stink about this with the press or something so other families don't go thru this as well.

[bea]

guys, i'm so sorry to hear about this. regarding the possible jab side-affects, try and get hold of a homeopathic remedy called ledum. it is a classic remedy for jabs and their side affects. as a family we have strength 30 for all our everyday remedies. if possible to talk to a homeopath then all the better but you can get ledum in boots the chemist and it will not have any side affects and will not interfere with diabetes. i'm happy to chat on phone about different ways you can take it or just go with what the packet says!

love bea xx

[Rich Tatum]

Dude, this is frustrating and enraging. I agree with others that this is a violation not only of your daughter's rights, but your rights as parents. It's physical abuse and an assault.

If a stranger had jabbed your daughter with a stick-pin it would be abuse and assault. Does doing the same with an uproven vaccine with potentially fatal side-effects make it better? NO WAY!

Wow.

Rich
BlogRodent

[becky]

The human side of me wants to go to that doctor and see how he likes being jabbed against his will. The Christian side of me says to pray for God's guidance. My former social worker self says that in addition to documenting your case like crazy, keep a separate account of anyone who contacts you with a similar story and encourage them to spread the word and then report back to you. Too often these type of incidents are dismissed due to a bad doctor when in fact, there's often an unstated policy in place. But if you can prove a pattern especially noting where this practice is most prevalent, then you can start targeting the most egregious offenders. And by all means, tip off your local media.