Amanda Witt believes that being a good mother also means exposing her child to Chickenpox. She believes that it is healthier for her children to catch Chickenpox than it is for them to receive the vaccination. The Plano, Texas mother has a Facebook page consisting of 300 other mothers and fathers who share similar beliefs. The page is used to promote playdates with Chickenpox infected children.
“It’s only this generation that’s been conditioned to believe that it is somehow bad,” Witt said to CBS Dallas. “When one child has chickenpox, we promote playdates throughout.”
The practice of promoting immunization through natural occurrences is not new, but that doesn’t mean that the Government isn’t watching and lurking, as was the case with one of Witt’s playdates. The Texas Child Protective Services, or CPS, paid her a visit.
The mom said that CPS knocked on her door this week because she was hosting a chickenpox party for kids whose parents are opposed to vaccinations. Parents who support the practice stated that they are being bullied online by people who report them to the police.
Witt keeps her page private, but seeing there is a Facebook page which directly mocks her and the CPS clearly seemed to have been alerted to her on-goings, the page likely isn’t ‘that’ private.
An overseas Facebook group is devoted to publicly shaming anti-vaccine parents, Witt stated. They reported one of her friends to CPS in Collin County, who sent a case worker to Witt’s front door. “What is shocking to me about that is there hasn’t been a law broken,” said Witt. “Chickenpox parties are not considered dangerous. They’re not illegal.”
Without any evidence of laws being broken, this is harassment at the highest of levels. I’d like to think this mother could fight back, even file a lawsuit for harassment. CPS has no right to knock on our doors without evidence of abuses and otherwise, broken laws involving children. This is not any of that. This is straight harassment and intimidation and the hope is to force parents into opting for vaccines instead. Bravo to this mother for keeping her head high and not giving into her detractors.
On another note, Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, supports parental rights to choose if they want to vaccinate according to CBS Dallas.
In an email Thursday, Abbott spokeswoman Amelia Chasse said the governor “recognizes the important public health benefits of vaccines” and noted that his daughter was vaccinated.
But Chasse said Abbott “supports current Texas law that he believes strikes the right balance.”