The freedom over what is done to your body is the most basic fundamental human liberty. Article 6 of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights says:

“Any preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic medical intervention is only to be carried out with the prior, free and informed consent of the person concerned, based on adequate information. The consent should, where appropriate, be express and may be withdrawn by the person concerned at any time and for any reason without disadvantage or prejudice.”

Some parents have very strong moral, ethical, conscientious, and religious objections to vaccination. It is a fact that vaccination is an invasive medical procedure that comes with risk, including severe disability and even death. As a result, you have the legal right to be fully and accurately informed about the benefits and risks of a medical intervention, including the consumption of a pharmaceutical product, and be free to make a voluntary decision about whether to accept the risk for yourself or your minor child without being coerced or punished for the decision you make. Ohio has an informed consent law, please see ORC 2317.54 Informed consent to surgical or medical procedure or course of procedures. 

The following is a letter written to the Ohio Legislature relating to the history of mandatory vaccination laws in Ohio and an example of the lengths  a parent will go to protect their children from over reaching draconian laws. 

“Dear Ohio Legislator,

As an Ohioan and descendant of a family who was negatively impacted by mandatory vaccination, I urge you to always include “reason of conscience” and “religious conviction” in any legislation involving vaccinations. The following is our story of how mandatory vaccinations devastated my great uncle’s life:

Ralph Bowser and his wife, Marguerite Roth Bowser, were deeply religious. Ralph was raised by Dunkards and German Baptists in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. Ralph came to Ohio because his mother and step-father had moved to Dayton. Ralph had strong religious convictions against vaccination. In the early 1940’s, the Dayton public schools made vaccination mandatory for all students. Ralph chose to withdraw his two children, Louise and Ralph Jr., from public school and school them at home. Unfortunately, home-schooling was illegal at that time in Dayton. In 1941, Ralph and Marguerite were charged with failing to enroll their children in public school. Ralph was sentenced to six months in the county workhouse. Marguerite was placed in a mental hospital because there was no women’s jail facility at that time. Ralph and Marguerite’s two children were placed in the Shawen Acres Children’s Home of Montgomery County. His brother, my great-grandfather, Harvey Bowser, was unable to take the two children because he already had his hands full caring for his wife, who was ill. Ralph’s mother, Sarah Geiser, was ill also, and she passed away in 1941.

Ralph went on a hunger strike. Ralph’s case made national headlines. Many newspapers portrayed Ralph as an anti-social religious fanatic and claimed his children were barely educated--which was not true. His daughter, Louise, later remembered her parent’s deep faith and gentle ways. Louise remembered her mother teaching her brother and her. She recalled that Shawen Acres tested her to determine her grade level and that she qualified to be in the same grade as her age-mates. Louise also remembered that Shawen Acres vaccinated both her brother and her against their will and separated her from her brother. Louise missed her parents very much during her time at Shawen Acres.

In response to Ralph’s fast, the workhouse assigned him to work in the kitchen and tried various means to tempt him into eating. Failing to break Ralph’s fast by temptation, the court then ordered Ralph to a hospital to be force fed on the 28th day of his fast.

Eventually, both Ralph and Marguerite were released. Marguerite would not speak of her treatment in the mental hospital, but her family said she was never the same after her experience-mentally broken. Ralph and Marguerite were not able to bring their children home for a long time. Thus, Ralph Bowser, a former marine and heavyweight wrestler, and his wife and family were damaged mentally, physically, and financially, because they objected to vaccination.

I share Ralph’s story because Ohio instituted exemptions from vaccination because of similar cases. Let us not repeat the past. Prevent similar injustices in the future.”

As you can see, being aware of history is important so we may gain an appreciation for where we are and why we have exemptions to vaccination.

According to ORC 3313.671, a child must be vaccinated against mumps, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, rubeola, rubella, hep b, chickenpox, and meningococcal or submit a written statement in lieu of the vaccination record in order to gain access to a public school. It is important to note two things. The first, if a parent declines even one of the above mentioned vaccinations in the series recommended by the CDC, a written statement of exemption is required. The second, there is absolutely no proof of immunity required to attend public school only proof of consumption of a vaccine. Please see Ethical Vaccinomics to learn more about primary and secondary vaccine failure. According to the CDC Ohio has a 2.6% exemption rate to one, some, or all vaccinations. 

***The above letter was published with permission by Rebecca Shull***

Michelle Cotterman, RN APP is a co-founder of Health Freedom Ohio. She is the mother of two naturally raised children. Her continuing education focuses on Holistic Health and includes Polarity Therapy, Homeopathy, and Herbalism. Michelle has been studying the science behind vaccines and the vaccine industry since 2010.