You might’ve recently heard about the teenager with an anti-vaxx mom who celebrated his 18th birthday by getting vaccinated.
Ethan Lindenberger grew up with a mother who believed that vaccinations could lead to autism and brain damage, so it absolutely forbade him from ever getting properly protected from a number of diseases.
He originally posted his concerns to Reddit, putting it out to the public that he wanted to get vaccinated against his mother’s will once he turned 18. He received a ton of support and did eventually go through with it.
The story drew so much attention that he was even invited to testify before a meeting of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions regarding his decision.
Ethan’s mother isn’t the only one who shares the beliefs that vaccines can be harmful—this is a common thought among many due to a recent slew of articles circulating social media, many of which don’t have reputable sources.
Parents in particular have become so fearful of getting their child vaccinated that one anti-vaxx mom even found herself doing just what Ethan did—but asking the opposite question. As her son’s 18th birthday approached, in light of Ethan’s story, she worried that he was going to do just what Ethan did: Go out and get himself legally vaccinated.
“I found out that my son is going to try and get himself vaccinated when he turns 18 in a month. How can I stop him?” the mother posted to Quora.
But instead of getting support the way Ethan did, this woman found herself immersed in a slew of negative comments.
Some were sarcastic: “Okay, here are some steps: Baking him a cake. Wish him a great 18th birthday. Congratulate him for making a smart, informed decision and deciding not to endanger other people’s lies. Oh, you meant stop him? My mistake, I thought you cared about your son and his well-being? Or does your ideology prevent you even from doing that?”
“Just start coughing on him and maybe he won’t make it to 18,” someone else wrote, mocking the mother.
Some were just straight up rude: “Accept that you have raised a son who is more intelligent than you.”
Others were genuinely shocked at how people even survive until 18 without vaccinations. “Science needs to snag that kid and study him to find out how he managed to make it to 18 in the first place,” he said.
Okay so her query didn’t go over as well as Ethan’s did, but perhaps that’s because there’s no such evidence that vaccinations can cause diseases or harm, but there is proof that not getting them can cause you easily contract severe diseases such as measles, mumps, and rubella.
Since the beginning of the year, the CDC has confirmed 206 cases of measles in 11 states, almost which all of the cases are on children who are unvaccinated.
What do you think of this mom who’s trying to stop her adult son from getting vaccinated? Are you pro or against vaccinations?