I hear ya, sister. (I also hear you.)

This week on Mom.me, I wrote about the passing of the California vaccine bill, which has been a huge source of controversy in my home state. 

For those unfamiliar, Governor Brown signed a bill earlier this week that would prevent unvaccinated children from attending school. 

Under the proposal, if a parent chooses to not vaccinate their child, the parent would have to home-school their child, participate in a multifamily private home-school or use public school independent study that's administered by local education agencies, according to Pan and co-sponsor Sen. Ben Allen, former board president of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.

According to the website, Vaccinate California, "The current rate of vaccination in too many of California's schools is below the level needed for 'herd immunity' -- the critical percentage needed to prevent small outbreaks from spreading and become epidemics."

...Via the L.A. Times: 

"We have schools in California where the percent of children who exercise the personal belief exemption is well above 50%," said Dr. Gil Chavez, deputy director of the California Department of Public Health's Center for Infectious Diseases. "That's going to be a challenge for any disease that is vaccine preventable."

I think we can all agree that this is a problem. I would hope we would all agree.  Because it isn't JUST about YOUR children or MY children, it's about OUR community of children. Of course every parent wants what's best for their child, but it would do us all a service of good to want what's best for our neighbor's child as well. It takes a village to keep a community safe, healthy and alive and this bill, in my opinion, protects the community, which I appreciate. It puts community health before individual concerns and here in California, someone's got to...

ED: My mother was not vaccinated because of her father's personal beliefs... And then, at age 2, she contracted Polio and almost died. She now walks with an inch and a half leg difference, a small price to pay compared to most Polio victims.

...Still. I have to admit, this whole Vaccine Bill scares me a little. It scares me to see my governor play parent to our state's parents. (Even if I wholeheartedly disagree with them.) I have always erred on the side of Question Everything and I get a bit twitchy thinking of ANYONE being stripped of their right to choose what is right for their children. That said, I do not feel twitchy when someone is stripped of a right to choose what infringes on someone else's child's rights. And that is kind of where I am today. I have friends who do not vaccinate and they will always be my friends, and I understand if/why they feel slighted and pissed off because of Brown's ruling...

...And so, while I understand the anti-vaxxer frustration, I also recognize the importance of this bill. And if I had to pick a side, it would be Team Brown. Reluctantly, sure, but there you have it. I am frustrated that it had to get to this point, but here we are--instating bills in order to maintain herd immunity and protect our children and communities. 

So, yes, for those of you reading who live in the state of California and, for whatever reason, have not immunized your kids, I understand why you are angry and frustrated and disgusted with Governor Brown. I understand why you feel that it is your child and therefore YOUR choice to make. I hear you. And I want to better understand you. I do. But I also hope that you will recognize that the reason this law passed is because it had to. Because fear has become an epidemic. Because over the past ten years, I have watched parents care less and less for the village and more and more for the self. And we have reached the point where something, for better and for worse, must be done. 

(You can read my post in its entirety, here.) 

GGC