TITLE: GRP will oppose mandatory and coerced vaccinations SPONSORS: David Rolde, Joshua Gerloff, Jamie McLaughlin VETTING COMMITTEES: Legislative, Membership FLOOR MONITOR & SHEPHERD: David Rolde. [email protected] SUMMARY: Green-Rainbow Party should oppose all laws that call for mandatory vaccinations, forced vaccinations, vaccinations without the patient's consent, and vaccinations of children without consent or knowledge of the parents or guardian. Green-Rainbow Party should oppose all laws that deny people a right to attend school or work at their job based on not being vaccinated. Green-Rainbow Party should support legislation to prohibit employers and schools from requiring vaccination for employees and students. Green-Rainbow Party should oppose the imposition of “immunity passports” that would require people to be vaccinated in order to be allowed to move freely or to enter venues. BACKGROUND: Many people are concerned about negative health effects of vaccines, and about laws that force people to get vaccinated or to have their children vaccinated. Dozens of vaccines are mandated for students in Massachusetts. Many children and families have been negatively impacted by vaccine injuries. There is a large movement of people opposed to mandatory vaccines. There are currently bills before the Massachusetts house of representatives (H.4784) and Massachusetts Senate (S.2763) that would make it more difficult for families to obtain and use medical and religious exemptions for mandatory vaccination requirements for children attending school. The Health Choice movement is working to stop these bills. The Steering Committee of the Maine Green Independent Party, in February 2019, adopted a resolution: "In some cases vaccines have prevented deaths or serious diseases. In other cases documentation exists of fatal or lifetime debilitating injuries to people, especially infants. Accordingly, we oppose any law mandating vaccines, which fail to take into account either sovereignty over our own bodies or important medical variations including allergic reactions." See https://mainegreens.org/news/press-releases/168-green-independent-and-libertarian-parties-release-joint-statement? It is time for GRP to take a position opposing mandatory vaccination. With the current Covid-19 crisis, many people are even more concerned that an experimental Covid-19 vaccine will be rushed into production and made mandatory, or that people will be forced to get the vaccine in order to work, travel or attend events. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has ordered that all students from pre-school through university will be required to get a flu shot by the end of the year. The flu vaccine has a high rate of causing injury. There are at least five studies that have shown that people who receive the flu vaccine are at higher risk of getting other non-influenza respiratory infections including coronavirus infections. There is a protest movement in Massachusetts against this flu vaccine mandate. It is important to note that the question of mandatory vaccinations is a separate question from other responses to covid. For example there are people who support mandatory mask-wearing and physical distancing but who oppose mandatory vaccines. TEXT OF PROPOSAL: Whereas vaccines can produce serious negative health effects and disabilities; Whereas vaccines can cause the disease they are supposed to prevent; Whereas some vaccines contain neurotoxic and disease-causing ingredients; Whereas vaccines are not tested for safety with double blind studies or to rigorous standards required for testing other pharmaceuticals; Whereas the risk of injury from some vaccines is greater than the risk of contracting and being injured by the disease that the vaccine was created to prevent; Whereas flu vaccines are sometimes ineffective for the current endemic strain, yet still can cause negative health effects; Whereas the MMR vaccine is not available as three separate vaccines that would lesson risk of injury if injected separately; Whereas many vaccines are tested on animals or contain animal ingredients or human fetal ingredients, and some people have a moral objection to this; Whereas executives from big pharma mega-corporations such as Merck which produce vaccines have "revolving door" careers as government officials in regulatory agencies such as the Center for Disease Control; Whereas U.S. federal law grants legal immunity to vaccine makers (pharmaceutical companies), and vaccine makers cannot be held legally or financially liable for injuries caused by administering the vaccines they produce; Whereas every person is unique with their own individual medical needs, so a medical intervention such as a vaccine might be right for one person and wrong for another; Whereas the Green-Rainbow Party believes that human beings have a right to bodily autonomy and to choose their own medical care: Therefore the Green-Rainbow Party declares that we are opposed to mandatory and coerced vaccinations. The Green Rainbow Party hereby shall stand in opposition to all laws and bills and referenda that call for mandatory vaccinations, forced vaccinations, vaccinations without the patient's consent, and vaccinations of children without consent or knowledge of the parents or guardian. The Green-Rainbow Party shall stand in opposition to all laws and bills and referenda that deny people a right to attend school or work at their job based on not being vaccinated, or that otherwise serve to coerce people to accept vaccinations that they don't want. The Green-Rainbow Party shall oppose all attempts to implement immunity passports which would require people to be vaccinated in order to travel freely or enter venues. The Green-Rainbow Party shall support bills and referenda that would strengthen people's rights to choose which vaccines they accept or reject to be administered on themselves and their children. In particular the Green-Rainbow Party will support bills and referenda that would prohibit employers and schools from requiring employees and students to be vaccinated. The Green-Rainbow Party will implement this proposal as described in the subsequent IMPLEMENTATION section IMPLEMENTATION: GRP Communication Committee and/or Adcom will publicize GRP's position against mandatory vaccinations as detailed in the TEXT OF PROPOSAL section. This shall be done within two weeks of adoption of this proposal by GRP State Committee. The GRP Legislative Committee will research state laws and bills and advise GRP on which state laws and bills pertinent to vaccination should be opposed or supported to be in compliance with GRP's position opposing mandatory vaccination. In the future, as GRP Legislative Committee's functionality increases, Legislative Committee will also 1. research federal laws and bills pertinent to vaccination, and 2. consider writing our own proposed legislation or referendums in opposition to mandatory and coerced vaccination. When GRP Platform Committee reconvenes and becomes active, Platform Committee will incorporate GRP's opposition to mandatory vaccination into the GRP Party Agenda and/or future GRP platform documents. GRP representatives to GPUS Committees will be instructed to advocate for GRP's political position in opposition to mandatory vaccination at the GPUS level. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: Minor