New Jersey To Require Mandatory Kidney Donation

New Jersey has had it with the lack of participation in the organ donation program among its citizens. In an effort to save the lives of gravely ill men, women and especially innocent children in the Garden State, Governor Corzine has passed a law that requires all healthy citizens to donate one kidney by age 45. Yes, the Garden State plans to reap your kidney. The law is called "Kidney2Me."

Citizens must display their scars to DMV employees within two months of their 45th birthday in order to retain a drivers license that will allow them to use The New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway, Route 287 and Route 80. These highways will have express lanes for kidney donors. Non-compliants will be allowed to walk between the lanes, blindfolds will be provided.

Anticipating great civic success with the "Kidney2Me" program, the Governor is also planning to tackle obesity within the Garden State. A new law is pending that will require all slender citizens to eat the first six forkfuls of food off the plate of heavy citizens. Failure to show appropriate weight loss among the heavy will result in a .05% property tax increase on the slender for each 5 pounds not lost per capita. There will be monthly weigh ins at every town hall. Bumper stickers are in production. They read, "Fork You, Fat."

Finally, the State of New Jersey will now require that every child five and under receive a flu vaccine in order to attend daycare or preschool in an effort to protect the elderly and infirm around them. This program is called, "Don't be a turd. Protect the herd."

Unfortunately, that last law is true. New Jersey is the first state in America to mandate the flu vaccine. On Thursday I participated in a rally in Trenton with The NJ Coalition for Vaccination Choice (NJCVC). The group opposes the four new vaccine mandates including an annual flu shot for children ages 5 and under, required for daycare and pre-school. NJCVC supports the passage of bill A260/S1071, a conscientious exemption to mandatory immunization which will permit parents to select all, some or no vaccinations for their children. A form of this parental right already exists in 19 other US states.

I saw an ad for the flu vaccine today sponsored by The American Lung Association. It ended with a small child hugging her grandmother. The voice over tells the viewer to get a flu shot to protect your loved ones. In other words, if you don't give a flu shot to your child, you're endangering your Mom or Dad or great-aunt Millie. Never mind that the flu shot is often only 70% effective. Forget the fact that the version recommended for children and adults ages 4 and up contains 25 micrograms of mercury based Thimerosal. Ignore that fact that 60% of health care workers do not get a flu shot (See here). Disregard that New Jersey has the highest incidence of autism in the 14 state Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, or ADDM. Close your eyes to the death stats that are really about the bacterial infections people who are immune compromised tend to contract while they have the flu, probably in a hospital setting where health care professionals don't bother to wash their hands. The push is on to sell as many flu shots as is humanly possible. Remember, "Don't be a turd. Protect the herd." I've got a few design ideas for the t-shirt. How about you?

Hang onto your kidneys, New Jersey.

(PS) If you're not an organ donor, please consider becoming one.

Comments

[Thrillcat]

Kim,

I thought last year's flu shot was about 45% effective.

-Christine

[Barbara Fischkin - Huffpost Blogger]

Kim,

Jonathan Swift would consider you a kindred spirit as, here, you use satire, so well to address a serious example of an ill-considered government mandate.


Mandating vaccines for little children when we don't know what harm they do along with the good they purport to do is a pure example of of dangerous thinking. If only we could say our vaccines were as pure.

[JustMom]

What about religious waivers? In Nevada there are religious waiver that releases parents from immunizations from daycares, schools etc.

Will a religious waiver be made available? Religious reasons are a whole different matter.

[sdtech]

Since mercury is regulated at 2 parts per billion in drinking water by the USEPA and FDA then why mandate injections into the bloodstreams of children at 50,000 parts per billion in flu shots?

[foe2Hg]

Great writing Kim on a crappy topic (crazy, mandatory vaccines not mandatory organ transplants --I am an organ donor too : )

these questions sum this all up nicely: daharja, thanks for the wonderful questions!

"Isn't America supposed to be free too?"

YES...which is why this mandatory vaccination stuff is being scrutinized.

and another--thanks

"As for the mercury, what on earth is it doing in shots?"
Mercury is a neurotoxin. This isn't the eighteenth century! There's no way I'd let anyone inject poison into me or my loved ones."

Boy--so darn true! And back in the day, the dangers of mercury were not known. Its use is dangerous and the rationale makes no sense.

Welcome to the dark side of America.

[lhsis1]

Any medical treatment for the "common good" sounds very, very, very scary to me. One shouldn't have to risk her children's health to protect the health of a stranger. If one chooses to inject a young child with mercury to keep Nana from getting sick, fine, but that should always be a CHOICE. Herd immunity is for cattle, and even that is iffy.

I, too, would be much more likely to donate a kidney, or any other organ I don't need than ever get another flu shot for myself or my children. Yes, even though the local grocery store offered a 10% discount with a flu shot. Mercury injected into the bloodstream vs. cheaper groceries. Gosh, what a tough decision!

[KFuller]

It should be mandated that every person pushing immunizations on children show proof that they and their own families have had every immunization.
Mandate! Mandate! Mandate!
What will be Mandated when our damaged children are grown?

[MThellokittiemama]

I'd donate my kidney long before I get a flu shot or have my kids get one!

This was the best thing I've read all day!

[thing12mom]

Great article Kim. You have an amazing sense of humor.

I am going shoot this right off to my sister who is a Kidney Transplant recipient and is utterly convinced that our vaccine program is a grand plan in population control.

She'll just love this.

[Kim Stagliano - Huffpost Blogger]

Hello, um, Thing - may I call you Thing? :) I'm glad you saw the humorous part - I was a bit concerned people might think I was poking fun at organ donation or kidney disease, which I am not. I'm a registered organ donor and encourage everyone to become one. My best to your sister.

Kim

[ThoJ]

"I am going shoot this right off to my sister who is a Kidney Transplant recipient and is utterly convinced that our vaccine program is a grand plan in population control."

She is correct. Vaccines are a method to *increase* the population by keeping people alive.

[JohnDanStone]

While flu vaccination has been shown to be virtually useless, it is worth pointing out that the CDC has available the mercury free version of Fluzone for only $3.12 more a shot, and this is available to physicians.

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/cdc-vac-price-list.htm

It is obviously troubling that pregnant mothers or 6 month old infants could be capriciously subjected to 25 micrograms of mercury (many times trace exposure) to save such trivial sums of money.

[daharja]

This is disgusting.

I live in New Zealand, and no-one here forces anyone to have shots. In other words, we live in a FREE country.

Isn't America supposed to be free too?

As for the mercury, what on earth is it doing in shots? Mercury is a neurotoxin. This isn't the eighteenth century! There's no way I'd let anyone inject poison into me or my loved ones.

Get educated, and refuse this rubbish. Aren't you people supposed to have rights over there?

[milo h minderbinder]

I'm so sorry to hear that NZ is so sadly lacking in sense of humor.

We'll put together a benefit concert and see if we can send you some.

[drbala]

America used to be a free country.

Forcing parents to use mercury laced vaccines on their children is just the tip of the iceberg. While this is generally agreed to be a government's intrusion on people's liberties, there are people already suggesting that we look at the big picture--that Corzine means well and this is just something he has to do to satisfy some segments.

I remember when FISA was passed in June, we were asked to look at the big picture and that passing of FISA was something that has to be done by our candidate.

I still don't understand how wiretapping or forcing government programs on citizens can be brushed aside by the very people that claim to be the pillars of liberty. There's a poignant quote from 'Star Wars: Episode III " Revenge of the Sith' that goes, "This is how liberty dies - to thunderous applause."

[ActiveHealing]

It looks like NJ is taking a page from Stephen King's short story "Quitters, Inc." To get it's citizens to fall in line with vaccine policies they remove options for daycare and school. What happens when they resort to shock therapy and amputation of parental digits?

[sandygottstein]

A sacred cow will not protect the herd.

[sarah130]

70% effective? the three post-marketing studies I've read, including the Cochrane review, have all indicated that the flu vaccine results in absolutely no difference in hospitalization and death rates amoung the elderly and children. that's 0% effective. Year after year the American public has rejected the worthless flu vaccine. Remember supply and demand anyone? Think the chicken pox vaccine is silly? Don't want the flu vaccine? How dare you! Pharma will simply go to work state by state to get its wares on the school mandates. Let what happneded in NJ be a wake up call, America. Vote those that can be bought out of office. We've taken the political process for granted for too long. There is backbreaking work ahead to get our government out of the hands of the special interests.

[ObjectiveAutismDad]

It's seldom that liberty is lost all at once -- Hume.

[ThoJ]

This is a very strange comment to make. If you look at the court decisions and legislative history of vaccines, U.S. citizens have a much higher choice than in the past. There are some very strongly worded supreme court decisions from the 1940s-1950s.