I have just received this email from Katherine Smith, the editor of The New Zealand Journal of Natural Medicine.

Please read and ACT on this information.

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Katherine Smith, editor
The New Zealand Journal of Natural Medicine
PO Box 44-128
Point Chevalier
Auckland 1246

Dear Home Schooling Families,

On March 24, 2011, the Report of the Health Select Committee’s Inquiry into “How to improve [increase] immunisation [vaccination] completion  rates” in New Zealand which was published on the parliamentary website. The government has six weeks (from March 24) to respond to the report.

The full report is posted at this link:
http://www.parliament.nz/NR/rdonlyres/BADCF722-D377-4451-8602-1E00938BFC74/188894/DBSCH_SCR_5060_Inquiryintohowtoimprovecompletionra.pdf

The Health Select Committee (under the leadership of Dr Paul Hutchison) has produced a report that recommends raising the targeted vaccination completion rate to 95% for NZ children aged 0-4.  It also proposes a target be set for 11 year olds.

The report also recommends that the government make children’s enrollment at school and early childhood centres  dependent on parents producing proof of their children’s vaccination status and – even more ominously – suggests that government consider linking “existing parental benefits” to vaccination.

If the government accepts the recommendations in the report, it appears that parents will be forced to choose whether their child has no vaccinations – or all vaccinations on the schedule in order to enroll in a school or early childhood education centre.  Eligibility for the 20 Hours Free Early Childhood Education may also be restricted to children who have had all recommended vaccinations (or whose parents have decided against vaccination) according to Page 33 of the Report.  Moreover, it is also possible that parents who do not comply with this “all or nothing” approach to vaccination (for example those who want their children to have some vaccines, but not others) may face financial penalties.

The report represents a significant attack on parents’ rights to make health care decisions for their children.

Even if you never plan to send your children to school, please take your time to read the website below and become informed about this issue.  In Australia, some students studying at tertiary level now face discrimination on the basis of their vaccination status. If we do not all act now to send a strong message to the NZ government that the right to education should not be linked to vaccination, the career prospects of many people could be damaged.  Christians (and others) who decide against MMR vaccination because of the use of cells derived from aborted foetal tissue in its production (or for any other reason) could be particularly badly affected if the government adopts these sort of discriminatory policies.

We are in an election year; if you disagree with the recommendations in the report,  please act now to let all political parties know that you find this unacceptable.

Please forward this message widely and visit the website www.noforcedvaccines.org as soon as you can for more information and for ideas on how you can help with the campaign to resist the erosion of human rights threatened by this Report.   Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Katherine Smith