Signing a no vax waiver for doctor's office

[makalani]

Trying to find a doc for my kids in our new town and so far have been shot down by all of them! "We don't see any patients here who are not fully vaccinated ma'am. No exceptions".

Well one family practice just called me back and said that one of their docs will see my kids if I will sign a form that says I am aware of the risks of not vaccinating my child and have decided to not vaccinate even though my doctor strongly recommends vaccinating" I asked her if it was a Sate of California form and the receptionist said no, it's a form that they have within their practice. Then she said she would have to enter our information into a state registry and needs the form signed to do so.

My first instinct is #$*% your form! But then I wonder if I should just sign it so that I have a place to take my children for medical care. I live about 30 minutes from some larger cities and so I could look into no vax friendly docs there.

Anyone else had to sign this type of form? I hate signing stuff like this because it makes me feel vulnerable to the unknown. Am I over reacting to a harmless technicality and sign the damn thing or should I keep looking for a doc who doesn't require I sign any forms?

[Arduinna]

Really? They don't accept any patients that are immune compromised, have cancer, HIV ect ? That would be my comeback response. I bet you get a um um um to that.

I wouldn't sign their form.

[Pirogi]

Good point, Arduinna. And what about children who have vaccine reactions and are therefore medically contraindicated? Or do they refuse to believe that such a thing could exist?

I wouldn't sign it, either. I would find a doctor in the larger city nearby. Actually, that is exactly what I do. Our ped is about 40 minutes away.

[crunchy_mommy]

I would not sign anything that says something to that effect.

I did, however, sign a brief statement that said something like "We are choosing not to vaccinate at this time." Nothing about risks etc. I wonder if they'd accept something like that for their records?

[Pirogi]

Also, does the state of California allow a parent to opt their child out of the vaccine registration database? If so, you can do that, and tell the receptionist that you are opting out, so they can't use that excuse for the form. If you decide to sign the form, you can mark through any parts you find objectionable.

[Marnica]

I think you need to pick your battles.

I left a practice because I refused to sign the "bad parent" form, but I was able to find a wonderful doc who doesn't push me or make me sigh anything. If you think there are no other docs in your area that will even see your child, I would sign it (making sure you opt out of the registry!!). If you think you can find another doctor with a little more time and searching and you are willing to travel a bit maybe, then I would not sign it.

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by Marnica

I think you need to pick your battles.

I left a practice because I refused to sign the "bad parent" form, but I was able to find a wonderful doc who doesn't push me or make me sigh anything. If you think there are no other docs in your area that will even see your child, I would sign it (making sure you opt out of the registry!!). If you think you can find another doctor with a little more time and searching and you are willing to travel a bit maybe, then I would not sign it.

I think my worry with this would be if anything ever came up re: vaxes or her parenting or anything... say an unfounded CPS case or a statewide unvaxed child roundup -- then having signed the "bad parent" form would make you look much worse because you are basically admitting that not vaxing is dangerous etc. and you're willing to put your child at risk.

I really wouldn't sign it. OP, check in Finding Your Tribe, maybe someone can recommend a vax-friendly doc.

[makalani]

Originally Posted by crunchy_mommy

I think my worry with this would be if anything ever came up re: vaxes or her parenting or anything... say an unfounded CPS case or a statewide unvaxed child roundup -- then having signed the "bad parent" form would make you look much worse because you are basically admitting that not vaxing is dangerous etc. and you're willing to put your child at risk.

I really wouldn't sign it. OP, check in Finding Your Tribe, maybe someone can recommend a vax-friendly doc.

This is what worries me! A situation like this. I remember a friend in New Mexico warning me about a form like this for this reason. Going to keep trying! Posted in "Find Tribe" but so far I think I win the award for being the ONLY mama on this entire forum who lives in my area! WOW!

[Emmeline II]

What about a family doctor or DO?

[TanyaS]

: We see a family doc and our vax status is a total nonissue.

[changingseasons]

Yeah, I signed one with our ped. But I told her straight out that I didn't agree with it, and she told me to feel free and cross out any lines that I wasn't "agreeing to" with my signature, and make notes or whatever. (I "agreed" to the lines stating that I was aware of the vaccines available to me, etc. and crossed out the lines stating that I was aware I was putting my child's life at risk by not vaccinating. ) It was a standardized form- I think CDC, maybe? It was pretty ridiculous, but I really like this ped and we went through a few bad ones before we found a good one, so I didn't want to chance losing her.

Also- you can opt out of the state vaccine registry in most states. The doctor's office should be able to tell you how to opt out, but if not, do some searching on the web to find the registry info for your state.

[yarngoddess]

I'm in California (placerville if you need a doc up here). You don't have to sign ANYTHING for this doctor. The vax registry can be opt-ed out of. I have found that finding a good family doc or osteopath doc would probably be less stressfull to you as your DS grows

Something I've always wondered is HOW can doc's get away with NOT treating patients that have a Religious Conviction that prevents them from Vaxing. Isn't that descrimination(sp?)? In Cali we have all 3 exemptions and for the Pro-Vax Doc's they couldn't care less. I've gotten into some heated "discussions" lol regarding the exemptions and my Religious one- they just don't care It's very sad to me. I've also had to be very forcefull with one particular WIC lady regarding the lead testing and vaxes. I told her we don't do vaxes for religious reasons, and she then wanted us to do the Lead testing. Again I told her we don't believe in "non life saving medical treatment" and she went on this Tirade about us refusing to cooperate, being negligent parents, and my fav- making her job more difficult. I demanded to see her supervisior, who was almost as snotty as she was but we got our checks and had no further hassles from that office. It's like when you have a Religous reason for not doing things people assume you are "lying" or faking. I don't understand how so many Medical and Government officals are allowed to ignore a Religious or ANY legal exemption. I don't understand why they think it's THEIR right to demand you consent to any and all medical treatments they deem nessicary. We (society) have handed our brains and saftey over to the Ped's and big Pharma So scary!

[SilverMoon010]

Oh my god. I signed one of these for our ped. I think I was just so happy that he was fine with our decision to not vaccinate that I went ahead and signed it because I didn't really care and I knew in my mind that the only thing that matters is that my son is not vaccinated. At the time I was fine with signing it, but now I totally regret it. Is it bad that I signed it? He's a great doctor and never pushed vaccines on us. I didn't think much of it.

[heathergirl67]

Originally Posted by yarngoddess

Something I've always wondered is HOW can doc's get away with NOT treating patients that have a Religious Conviction that prevents them from Vaxing. Isn't that descrimination(sp?)?

Doctors can deny treatment to all sorts of people. One doctor denies treatment to children if their parents have tattoos, because it goes against the "Christian environment" he's trying to maintain in his office. It was in the news recently. Other doctors refuse to treat women who want an abortion because it goes against their religous beliefs. I guess it would be just as unfair to demand that a doctor go against his religous beliefs as it would be to demand that a patient go against his or her religous beliefs.

[Pirogi]

Originally Posted by Mandy F

Oh my god. I signed one of these for our ped. I think I was just so happy that he was fine with our decision to not vaccinate that I went ahead and signed it because I didn't really care and I knew in my mind that the only thing that matters is that my son is not vaccinated. At the time I was fine with signing it, but now I totally regret it. Is it bad that I signed it? He's a great doctor and never pushed vaccines on us. I didn't think much of it.

You could consider filing a retraction statement with your child's medical file. Basically, a letter stating that you are retracting your statement filed with (ABC) ped practice, dated (###), that (XYZ); ie, I am putting my child at risk by not vaccinating, etc. You could draft it, sign it, have it notarized, and then give it to your ped's office. If you do this, I would also recommend that you get a copy of the "bad mommy" letter you signed and keep it with a copy of the retraction statement in your possession, just in case it mysteriously disappears from your child's medical file. You could send the retraction statement certified mail/return receipt requested, and keep the receipt with the forms. AFAIK, the fear of signing these statements (ignoring the fact that they are insulting and medically incomplete) is that they can be used against you if someone is trying to build a case against your parenting abilities. Keeping your own copy would be good insurance.

[SilverMoon010]

Originally Posted by Pirogi

You could consider filing a retraction statement with your child's medical file. Basically, a letter stating that you are retracting your statement filed with (ABC) ped practice, dated (###), that (XYZ); ie, I am putting my child at risk by not vaccinating, etc. You could draft it, sign it, have it notarized, and then give it to your ped's office. If you do this, I would also recommend that you get a copy of the "bad mommy" letter you signed and keep it with a copy of the retraction statement in your possession, just in case it mysteriously disappears from your child's medical file. You could send the retraction statement certified mail/return receipt requested, and keep the receipt with the forms. AFAIK, the fear of signing these statements (ignoring the fact that they are insulting and medically incomplete) is that they can be used against you if someone is trying to build a case against your parenting abilities. Keeping your own copy would be good insurance.

Thank you so much! I had never ever thought about it being used against me ever.

[VillageMom6]

Personally, I sign nothing... at least, not when I'm opting out of something. That is the default setting.

Maybe if I was accepting an intervention I would sign an agreement form.

Otherwise, no, I do not sign anything that might implicate me or take away my legal rights.

[SuburbanHippie]

I had to sign it and I did. I told them I don't care what I have to sign, my kids aren't getting vaccinated. I figure that if that did some sort of mass round up of non-vaxed kids I would be "found" anyway. I post on countless anti-vax boards. I've attended anti-vax seminars. "Big Brother" could find me a thousand different ways if they needed to. All I care about right now is protecting my kids in the moment. If they get older and our freedom of choosing whether or not to vax is taken away, at least their brain barrier will be fully formed by then.

Maybe it is naive of me? Maybe I thinking too much in the moment. I don't know. But I feel comfortable for now.

[caned & able]

If one reads that paper comprehensively, ask yourself why would anyone sign such a thing?

[SoCaliMommy]

I never had to sign such a form at either of our drs. I wouldn't sign a form like that either.