unvaxed Profile picture
Aug 30, 2018 4 tweets 3 min read Read on X
Let's talk about #vaxlaw & exemptions. I grew up in a state that didn't allow personal belief exemptions, just medical & religious beliefs. Like many other #antivaxxers in that situation, my parents claimed religious exemption.
We weren't particularly religious & our religion wasn't actually #antivax, but my mom explained that that's what she had to say, because our state didn't allow personal belief exemptions. #vaxlaw
I'm sure my parents weren't trying to teach me that it's ok to lie & break the law & use #religion instead of treating it like a sacred doctrine of #faith, but those were the lessons I learned from the experience. It made me feel icky inside. #vaxlaw #parenting
I never said these things to my parents. Kids will learn things from you that you didn't mean to teach them. They will take things to heart that you might never know about. #Parenting is hard.

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More from @unvaxed

Sep 30, 2020
#Parenting with #antivax parents: a thread.
When I was young, my antivax mom always told me that I would have to do my own research about #vaccines. When I grew up & my research led me to get myself vaccinated, she was upset.
The early conversations with my mom about my decision to get #vaxxed were difficult & emotional for us both. My mom felt like I was rejecting her. I felt betrayed.
Getting #vaccinated as an adult is an annoying & embarrassing process. I was ashamed to explain to doctors why I needed vaccines I should have gotten in childhood. I had to take time off work to get multiple doses of certain vaccines.
Read 12 tweets
Jun 21, 2019
It was hard, but I admitted to some friends this week that I was raised #unvaccinated. It's not the first time I've shared this info with people I know, but I do it rarely, because I'm still ashamed of it.
Their 1st question about being #unvaxed: But you're #vaccinated now, right? Yes, don't worry; I caught up on all my #vaccines.
2nd question about being #unvaxed: How did you go to school? With a #religious exemption! We were Lutheran, but #religion wasn't #antivax. We just used a religious exemption, because philosophical exemptions didn't exist in our state. This is common for #antivaxers.
Read 5 tweets
May 11, 2019
#Thread: Why are people #antivax? My mom's answer to "why?" has changed over time. When I was young, she told me that she was more worried about #vaccine side effects than she was about me catching a vax preventable disease (#VPD).
As I've asked her about the issue over time & pushed back against some of her beliefs, she's given me a lot of different answers:
false link to #autism;
"#toxins;"
fear that babies' immune systems aren't developed enough to handle so many shots at once;
"Big Pharma;"
VAERS;
etc
Overall, she had a gut feeling when she first became a #mom that #vaccines are scary & if anything happened to me because she vaccinated, she'd feel guilty.
Read 7 tweets
Apr 30, 2019
For her bday, my daughter got a Kiss Me I'm #Vaccinated shirt & a donation made to @sabinvaccine in her honor. Extra thanks to our friends for these gifts, because it was very satisfying to open them in front of my #antivax parents & have them not say a word. Image
I don't mean this spitefully. I make a point of keeping my parents informed about my daughter's #vaccines. She's had them all on schedule and done great. Last time, she had 4 shots for her 12 mo appointment & barely cried. She played happily the rest of the day, no big deal.
By sharing this with my parents & being vocal about #vaccines to friends & you internet strangers, I hope to combat the scary stories out there. It's not normal to share "We got #vaccinated and nothing happened, everything was fine," but we should share that.
Read 6 tweets
Oct 24, 2018
On a mom chat board recently an #antivax mom asked for #pediatrician recommendations near where I grew up. She wanted a doctor who would let her skip #vaccines. Someone recommended my old pediatrician. I had so many thoughts...
For starters, I wish #antivaxxers wouldn't look for #pediatricians who won't challenge their #vaccine stance. Your pediatrician should be a resource to talk through your fears & correct misinformation.
My #pediatrician got me through my childhood, so at a bare minimum, he did his job. I still can't help feeling like he was a bad doctor though. I mean, an #antivax #doctor must have misunderstood significant parts of medical school.
Read 6 tweets
Oct 22, 2018
I hear men (who are otherwise not #sexist) say, "I would be uncomfortable with a female doctor" & it makes me so mad, because it never occurred to me to choose a doctor based on #gender. Like, why have I put up with crappy male doctors all my life? #WomensHealth
To be fair, I've had good male doctors. General practitioners, OBGYNs, hematologists, neurologists. But when they're bad, it's almost exclusively because they are men and I'm a woman. #WomensHealth
One time, a male doctor misdiagnosed my kidney stone as mittelschmerz (pain during ovulation), because when a woman has pain in her side, it must be related to her lady parts. This was 10 years ago & I'm still bitter about it. #WomensHealth
Read 5 tweets

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