Testimony made to Congress in 1962 by Clinton R. Miller of
the National Health Federation during discussion of mandatory vaccinations:
“The only time (NHF) would feel justified in violating an
American’s exercise of choice in matters of health would be when such exercise
of freedom violated the equal right of another. Clearly at the present time no one is denied vaccination for
themselves or their children if they desire it. Therefore, citizens who exercise their freedom of choice by
choosing not to be vaccinated are not denying an equal right to another by the exercise
of this freedom.
This principle of freedom is a superior and more fundamental
consideration than that of vaccination.
There are those people who so stoutly believe in the principle of
vaccination that their enthusiasm leads them to an intolerance of anyone who
just as stoutly does not believe in it.....
Those who believe in freedom of choice in matters of
politics, religion, and health, emphasize that minority views of one generation
become majority views of another.
History has a wonderful lesson to teach us here if we will learn
it. History will record a man of one
age as a wise man, even though subsequent research might prove his theories to
be in error, if he refrained from force of any kind in sharing of his beliefs
with his disciples and contemporaries.
But it will record the same man with the same theories as a fool or a
tyrant, who uses, or allows to be used, force of any kind- not the least of
which is governmental force - to gain acceptance for his beliefs.
Humility about the extent of one’s knowledge, or of the
collective knowledge of any age is always the mark of greatness, progress, and
understanding....
Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of
Independence, and Congressman is quoted as saying ‘The Constitution of the
Republic should make provision for medical freedom as well as for religious
freedom....All such laws’(which restrict health choices)’are un-American and
despotic. They are fragments of monarchy
and have no place in a Republic’.
....We maintain that this right was implied, if not written....But the fact is that it was not written, and we are left to argue that it was certainly implied. At the time Benjamin Rush made this plea, it was argued that this ‘right’ was assumed by the guaranteed freedom of religion and didn’t need to be codified. ...Incidentally, Dr. Rush was a strong believer in vaccination theories of Jenner, but emphasized the greater need for freedom in all health matters.”(Excerpted from hearings before the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, 87th Congress, Second Session on H.R. 10541. Conducted May 15 and 16, 1962)
ALL
INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR
GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE
KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED
AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO
VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU
ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.