A Catholic’s case for vaccine freedom.

This post first appeared on Instagram on July 24, 2020.

This is not an anti-vaccine post. This is a post arguing that Catholic individuals and parents, not the government, should have final say regarding their own and their family’s medical treatments and procedures.

As I’ve mentioned, I’m not a doctor, and I offer no medical advice. I’m a Catholic woman with a genetic predisposition to, as well as a family history of, significant adverse vaccine reactions. It would be dishonest to say I have no skin in this game. I do, and I care very much about this topic. However, while I’m not unbiased, I do try to remain objective and avoid fear-based decision-making. Be not afraid, friends.

Let’s dive in:

FIRST: Vaccines are not mandated by the Church. This is the first litmus test and it’s easily passed. No doctrine nor dogma requires me to vaccinate myself or my kids. Catholics are, thankfully, given quite a lot of room for prudential parenting decisions. Between concerns about vaccine safety, the ethics of certain vaccines, and our family medical history, we’ve determined that very selective/delayed vaccination is the safest route for our family. I have a friend, on the other hand, who is Hep B positive, so her children always receive that vaccine right off the bat. Prudential decisions are the purview of the parent, barring abuse/neglect.

(The Pontifical Academy for Life has two documents that say Catholics are allowed to receive vaccines that contain aborted fetal cells as long as Catholics take certain measures, but neither document mandates them. Regardless, it’s my understanding that these documents are not Magisterial and are non-binding.)

SECOND: The Catholic faith teaches that our responsibilities to our vocations are primary. As a Catholic mother, after giving God what is rightfully His, my primary responsibilities are to my immediate family. Every other obligation comes after those. The idea that I should vaccinate in order to “love my neighbor” ignores the primacy of my husband and children as my closest ‘neighbors’. No doubt we need to love ALL our neighbors, but this well-meaning emotional plea is often tossed about as if people are making decisions in a vacuum, wherein on the one hand we have happy vaccinated children and a “protected vulnerable population,” and on the other hand we have selfish people doing selfish things and people dying because of it. This is a false dichotomy. See my fourth reason for details.

THIRD: Human beings are unique, as created by God. There is no one-size-fits-all *anything* in the medical world. Certain treatments work better on one population and others work better on other populations. This is God’s design and it is one we should honor throughout the medical field. Who knows better than parents, in consultation with their doctor, what the best care and treatment for a certain child is?

FOURTH: Vaccines have side effects. Some of those side effects, though very rare, are also very grave, even unto lifelong autoimmune diseases, paralysis or death. It’s my right, and arguably my responsibility, as a mother to know these potential side effects and weigh the risks of the vaccine against the risks of the disease. To give informed consent means to have all the pertinent information in order to either consent or dissent. If dissent is not an option (and it effectively is not in my state and a handful of others) then I am not free to give informed consent.

Finally, I’d like to say that if you are a vaccinating parent, I support your right to do so. No shame. I do hope that you consider offering your vaccine-questioning friends the same courtesy.

This is my case for vaccine freedom. Do you have more to add, or (charitable) questions? What’s your reason? Share below!