Bebe 17,289 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Christian Science, Australia's only church allowed to refuse vaccination on religious grounds, will be unaffected by new Federal Government rules that will strip childcare and family benefits from those who boycott national vaccination programs.Anti-vaccinationists have turned to online forums to workshop ways of exploiting the exemption, which they see as a loophole in the new rules.This week, Social Services Minister Scott Morrison refused to divulge the identity of the church through fear it would be inundated with new followers keen to find a path towards exemption.But one expert doubts there will be a sudden surge of converts to the faith."I think it's highly unlikely that anybody would be joining Christian Science just in order to get an exemption from vaccination," Dr David Smith, from the University of Sydney's US Studies Centre, said."Christian Science is an entire system of religious beliefs that requires quite an intense personal commitment on behalf of the believers."A lot of other non-vaccination communities in Australia would already have their own religious, secular or otherwise spiritual beliefs that just wouldn't be compatible with Christian Science."Under government guidelines, parents and carers must produce a letter from a church leader stating they are a practising member of the organisation before they can be granted an official exemption.But some health professionals are concerned the new rules may create more problems than they are worth."There's definitely going to be pressure on this particular exemption and people will be looking at how they can claim that exemption having not done so in the past and be located under that religious exemption category," associate professor Julie Leaske, from the University of Sydney's School of Public Health, said."I think the Government will be very busy trying to deal with this issue."She anticipated there would only be a minor increase in vaccination rates."There'll be a small number of families who are significantly affected by the policy but it's very unlikely to meaningfully increase vaccination rates," she said."It's certainly hoped that the estimated $50 million a year in savings will go towards reforms and measures that have a much more meaningful impact on vaccination rates."Christian Science and 'healing by faith' There were fewer than 1,400 Australians who identified themselves as Christian Scientists in the 2011 national census.Like Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Scientists belong to some of the smaller religious groups who have their origins in the United States.The influence they have wielded in national politics there has been a focus of Dr Smith's research.There are probably no other religious groups who could claim that not getting vaccinated is actually a religious tendance, according to Dr Smith."That is, that it is something that is written into religious scripture, it's a practice that's been followed for a long time, that it's something that a religious believer needs to do to be in good conscience," he said.He added that healing by faith was one particular element Christian Scientists were fixated on."They believed [it] was a lost element of Christianity that needed to be recovered," he said.Dr Smith said believers do not deny all forms of medical treatment."[They] especially use kind of routine forms of medical treatment such as dentistry, and they certainly wouldn't object going to hospital to heal broken bones or something like that," he said.Dr Smith said Christian Science does vaccinate in countries where it is legally compulsory for them to do so."[But] it's not surprising that in an Australian context, where there is an option to present a conscientious objection, they would make that objection," he said."And it is a very credible objection because Christian Science's opposition to all kinds of modern medical treatment is very well known and very well established."Media representatives for the Christian Science church in Australia did not return the ABC's calls today.Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-15/christian-scientists-exempt-from-new-vaccination-laws/6395480 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronyoji 2,064 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 its selfish and ignorant and puts communities at risk. its like these religious people are asking for all the old plagues to come back.....granted the world is over populated as it is.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bebe 17,289 Posted April 15, 2015 Author Share Posted April 15, 2015 its selfish and ignorant and puts communities at risk. its like these religious people are asking for all the old plagues to come back.....granted the world is over populated as it is....What's also horrifying is that it affects the children of these nutters. These children rely on their parents to make the right decisions and they are being failed.Babies/Infants are at the most risk of unnecessarily dying from preventable illness. Some vaccinations can't be given until a certain age, so mass immunisation is really a must. Not only are these people putting their own children at risk but they are risking the lives of those who are not strong enough yet to tolerate the disease in even it's weakest form. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melech 9,900 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 "He added that healing by faith was one particular element Christian Scientists were fixated on." I feel so dumb that I believed that once Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole 1,809 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I feel like there should be a point where the state can intervene and force vaccinations. Yes, one can always argue the parent's right to hold medical decisions over the child but are you really risking the death of your child AND possible spread of disease for religion? Most of these parents probably have the mindset that "oh it won't happen to MY child" but if enough parents have that mindset, it IS going to happen to YOUR child. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NathanC 938 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I feel like there should be a point where the state can intervene and force vaccinations. Yes, one can always argue the parent's right to hold medical decisions over the child but are you really risking the death of your child AND possible spread of disease for religion? Most of these parents probably have the mindset that "oh it won't happen to MY child" but if enough parents have that mindset, it IS going to happen to YOUR child. A lot of them are either ignorant or misinformed about science... Sad but true reality... on on the bright side, natural selection... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahb 17,187 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 A lot of them are either ignorant or misinformed about science... Sad but true reality...on on the bright side, natural selection...It's not good when they can potentially infect babies that are too young to be vaccinated though Do you feel him sir? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morphine Prince 109,651 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Idiots. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosey 3,017 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Can someone explain to me how the country profits from stripping Christian Scientists of childcare and family benefits? "I am the world's greatest person that does not want to let people into the country."—US President Donald J. Trump Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bebe 17,289 Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 Can someone explain to me how the country profits from stripping Christian Scientists of childcare and family benefits? The plan is to strip childcare and family benefits from those who boycott national vaccination programs. It's not targeted at Christian Scientists. The idea is that it will encourage people to vaccinate as well as provide money to treat vaccination-preventable disease and aid in campaigns to encourage and educate people on vaccinations. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goosey 3,017 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 The plan is to strip childcare and family benefits from those who boycott national vaccination programs. It's not targeted at Christian Scientists. The idea is that it will encourage people to vaccinate as well as provide money to treat vaccination-preventable disease and aid in campaigns to encourage and educate people on vaccinations. So if someone doesn't want to vaccinate their kids, the government makes sure their family and kids are even worse off? "I am the world's greatest person that does not want to let people into the country."—US President Donald J. Trump Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bebe 17,289 Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 So if someone doesn't want to vaccinate their kids, the government makes sure their family and kids are even worse off? If someone doesn't want to vaccinate their kids then they will have to be able to afford it. The economic costs of the entire epidemic, including lost work time for parents, costs of treatment, and time spent by the health department investigating it, is around eleven thousand dollars per case.It's like insurance, if you are at a higher risk you pay more premium. If your children are at a higher risk of catching a preventable illness and provide a risk for others in the community than you pay a little more.The Government could have made it mandatory with jail time and other harsher penalties for those who refused to vaccinate. Due to opposition from an extremist, irrational minority putting their children, and the children of others, at risk they have the ability to opt out if they wish and choose to receive less benefits. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicole 1,809 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 So if someone doesn't want to vaccinate their kids, the government makes sure their family and kids are even worse off? Parents not vaccinating their kids by choice is a really big problem here. It's increased over the years and there have been more and more cases of kids dying or babies dying because they either weren't vaccinated or too young to be vaccinated and exposed to the virus. The new laws exempt circumstances where kids can't get vaccinations for extreme medical reasons (which is rare but happens) or if they are a registered member of a church that does not believe in vaccinations. It sounds harsh but at this point in time we need it. Vaccinations don't just eliminate your chance of contracting a disease, hence if one child who hasn't got the vaccination contracts a disease, kids who are vaccinated are still likely to catch it. If every child is vaccinated, the incidence of that scenario happening will decrease. If you are choosing to expose your child + other children as a result to deadly diseases, you should be reprimanded for it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Die 1,864 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 So if someone doesn't want to vaccinate their kids, the government makes sure their family and kids are even worse off? Right. They already have their hands full planning their child's funeral. Nod if you wanna make love with the enemy. ❤ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gagzus 22,969 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Christian Science as a string of words is a contradiction in itself lmfao just like their views by the looks of it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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