Vaccines and the people who want to be exempted from them are a mainstay of headline news these days. Anti-vaxxers are considered kooks and dangerous as news reports continually cause fear about measles epidemics and the return of diseases thought to be eradicated. Depending on our inherent characteristics governing risk, fear, and general approach to life, as consumers of news, we all have a naturally tendency to make a judgment one way or another.

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For many years, states have required school children to be vaccinated before entering school. Most states also allowed exemptions from these requirements for religious and other reasons. In the wake of measles outbreaks across the country, many states have changed their rules.

New York, for example, earlier this year removed all exemptions from the vaccine requirement for school children. This action was in response to the “worst measles outbreak since 1992.” As of August 1, the CDC recorded 1234 cases of measles this year, with 125 hospitalizations and 65 complications and 0 deaths. The Washington Times reported yesterday that families have just 14 days to comply with the vaccine requirements or they must remove their children from school.

A few days earlier, the Washington Times reported that the number of families asking for a religious exemption from the vaccine requirement in Connecticut rose 25% from 2% to 2.5% of all students. One of the families is suing the state to keep detailed lists of unvaccinated children private information. “A Bristol couple on Thursday asked a court to stop the release of the school-by-school vaccination rates, arguing they’ll suffer ‘irreparable harm’ if the information is released. Their unvaccinated son attends a private school where 18% of the students claimed a religious exemption from vaccinations, according to school-by-school data DPH released in May.”

For years I was one of the many parents staunchly supportive of vaccines. I believed that it was my duty to vaccinate my children to protect the public health. However, I have changed my mind and my actions this year. Why? Because IFA discovered that many of the vaccines were developed using the tissue from aborted babies. This tissue is still an ingredient in the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine. Although many of the vaccines available today are available in forms that do not contain this tissue, there is no way in America to be vaccinated for measles without it.

For me, this is a complete and total game changer. In fact, when I first learned about this, I wept. All 4 of my children, without my having a clue, were vaccinated with shots that contained the tissue of an aborted baby. So it is with deep concern that I read the reports about religious exemptions no longer being allowed, because if I had my children now, I would need those exemptions. I am also concerned about the trend we are seeing, as an organization that is assessing the news, that in the same time frame that IFA has been trying to get the word out to intercessors about the link between abortion and vaccines, the mainstream news has been manic in their hysteria about people who don’t want vaccines.

This push for universal vaccination may push Christian children out of the public schools where they are having an impact on their peers. If you have any doubt about the amazing work that Christians are doing as students, teachers, administrators, and more in the public schools, join our First Friday Prayer Conference Call. Pray with us for the nation’s most important mission field and our nation’s most important missionaries. Call (712)775-7430 (no code needed), or join us on Facebook LIVE at 1215 pm ET, Friday, September 6, 2019.

As we cull the news to bring you what we pray is guided by the Holy Spirit to alert you to prayer, we also hope and pray that you become a more savvy news consumer and a more humble evaluator of what you read, hear, and watch.