My pediatrician told me that it’s not physician choice it’s something to do with government and insurance regulations. So she doesn’t take insurance and doesn’t administer vaccines. If her patients/parents want them she refers them to the health department. That’s the way she is able to accept patients who don’t want vaccines.
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Anti-discrimination laws apply equally to the government as elsewhere. Also the Nuremberg Code, which particularly applies to doctors and researchers, has been incorporated into state laws. Also, as mentioned above, the courts have many times recognized that no one should be forced to take a medical treatment.
Making someone wear shoes and a shirt does not change his/her body permanently.
Doctors are sometimes wrong, so it cannot be the doctor’s choice and doctors should not coerce anyone to follow their orders. Humans are fallible. That’s why individuals must be protected from authoritarianism.
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I have a household member that is a family medicine physician, I can assure you they are allowed to do either approach. I am happy you found a provider that matches with your beliefs though! As I said, rapport is super important!
The insurance ‘stuff’ is just if the vaccine is covered or not. Medicaid/Medicare are on a whole other set of rules, they sometimes need to go to the health department to get their approved brand name/batch.
So we agree! No one should be forced to take a medical treatment, as that would go against informed consent. That doesn’t stop there from being other consequences though, such as being ‘fired’ as a patient.
I looked up the Nuremberg Code, thanks for that - interesting. That looks like it’s more about experimenting without consent and proper motive. I think we’re good to go on those main concerns since it requires FDA approval before being widely used, much less added to the guidelines.
Completely agree. I only gave my daughter the necessary vaccine so she could see a Dr. my daughter has chose not to vaccinate her son so he goes to a naturopath doctor but her insurance won’t cover his appointment or check ups he’s 6 months now and has never been sick.
I completely agree! I feel that as a parent, you have the RIGHT to do what YOU believe is best for your child. With that being said, just because you (the parent) chose not to vaccinate your child- that shouldn’t mean that your child is turned away from receiving health care from their doctor. That is sad. There should be more doctors who are for “parent choice”.
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Thank you Jillian 
They absolutely should be able to deny care. Vaccines are forced for a reason. There are many sick children dying from leukemia, auto-immune diseases, and so much more who CANT get the vaccine. When you don’t vaccinate your child you’re putting your own child at risk as well as others who can’t vaccinate but want to.
If this is about freedom, a medical practice should have the right to choose what is best for their practice.
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I would argue that vaccine shedding puts more immunocompromised at risk than unvaccinated children. Also, the vaccines are given on a schedule by age so every child that hasn’t reached a specific age is technically “unvaccinated” therefore putting the immunocompromised at risk still.
The problem is that all the pediatricians are making parents choose between no healthcare (or driving ridiculously far - like 2 hours in some cases) or giving their children vaccines.
In some cases like mine, my son has specific documented adverse effects from vaccines and they still refuse us in almost every office.
I also don’t think it’s right to say my sick children should be left in the dust because other children are also sick… shouldn’t doctors want to help as many sick children as possible?
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The problem is that it’s not actually about safety or “freedom.” It’s about doctors making insane profits from administering vaccines, so if they can’t make money vaccinating patients, they don’t want to waste their time on them. I agree with you 100%!!! Children are entitled to basic medical care regardless of whether the doctor can profit from them.
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I think if it was about freedom, they should give parents the final decision over health of the children. Imagine if your doctor fired you because you had an allergic reaction to Tamiflu so you won’t take it anymore and then all the doctors got together and said “nope. You can’t come here because you won’t take tamiflu” but you still pay for health insurance like everyone else.
That’s essentially what’s happening. They’re using coercion (no vaccine-no healthcare) to force parents into vaccinating.
The physician doesn’t live with the child. Physicians don’t have custody of the child and in most cases, they rely on information from the parent to help them get to the diagnosis. Physicians exist to help sick people get better, if they aren’t willing to help children, wouldn’t they be violating their Hippocratic Oath?
In my experience the actual physician doesn’t care for the policy and would see the children regardless (because sick children deserve healthcare) but the medical practice or businesses are making these policies because of vaccine kickbacks and threats from insurance companies.
Insurance companies are not doctors and they shouldn’t dictate how a doctor runs their office.
Respectfully, doctors should have the right to decide how they practice medicine. They are physicians we pay for their expertise, care, and opinions. They are not service workers that are required to perform a task. If there are fundamental differences in how a physician and a patient want to approach health, that won’t be a good doctor-patient relationship. These doctors likely aren’t “banning” parents out of spite, but because it’s in the best interest of the patient.
I understand the frustration, but not being able to find a doctor that suits one’s needs and is in network with one’s insurance is more of an insurance problem.
Basic care is infrastructure. the providers get some advantages, like privileged access to insurance money; so they need to have the obligation to provide basic health services to every one.
the right of the individual to make medical decisions for oneself - and the right of parents to decide for their children - is higher than the right of a generalist to refuse patients because they don’t follow all his advice.
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Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. My son had extreme adverse reactions to vaccines and even knowing this information, doctors will refuse to see him unless he gets the vaccines. That definitely isn’t in the best interest of the child. Also, they won’t allow me to refuse them for my other children considering my sons extreme reaction, which also doesn’t seem like it’s in the best interest of those children… I’d like to believe that forcing vaccines is in the best interest of the children but unfortunately the facts are that forcing vaccines are only in the best interest of the doctors wallet…
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Exactly! Thank you
Went through this myself w/ my child. Nightmare. 1 dr in the whole of ATL.
NEED TO INCLUDE DENTISTS as well.
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Don’t physicians need consent from the patients prior to administering medication? If they need consent, that should be you have a right to make a choice… Have you ever been given an FDA insert for a vaccine from a physician? It’s not informed consent when they make their recommendations and don’t tell you about the potential side effects. If vaccines had a commercial and were required to list all the potential side effects (death included) we would all be wondering why in the world anyone takes them!
Doctors should be making the best decision for the children not for their practice or wallet…
Mr. Siri has extensive experience and has handled numerous high-profile cases related to mandated medicine, vaccine injury, and policy. This experience includes challenges to federal and state mandates; the restoration of exemptions, including for U.S. military members; extensive litigation against federal agencies for transparency; and deposing immunologists, infectious disease doctors, pediatricians, and vaccinologists, including the world’s leading vaccinologist.