Honorable Governor Jerry Brown,
We are residents of the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego. We are mothers and fathers, single parents, and dual-income families. We are scientists, software engineers, students, small business owners, daycare owners, accountants, doctors, contractors, teachers…
Some of us vaccinate our kids according to the California schedule; some are following a delayed schedule, or selectively vaccinate; several families don’t vaccinate their children due to religious beliefs or family history of adverse reactions to vaccination in the past, and we respect each other’s choices.
We belong to different religions. We grew up in Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia — almost all 15 ex-USSR republics are represented. Some of us came to the US as young kids, and we think of ourselves as California natives.
What is it that unites us? Our language and history. We remember our lives and our parents’ lives in the USSR.
For some of us, medical freedom – the availability of appropriate medical services, and the freedom to choose a doctor who would understand our needs and hear our concerns – was one of the important reasons for coming to the U.S.
It wasn’t that long ago when we, as children, had to line up at school to receive our shots (our parents were not even informed of the procedure).
It wasn’t long ago when lice inspection at school could make us targets for bullying. It wasn’t long ago when cancer patients in Soviet clinics would not be informed of their diagnosis.
It wasn’t long ago when our political dissidents were locked up in psychiatric clinics, diagnosed with schizophrenia, and treated with tranquilizers and neuroleptics for anti-Soviet behavior.
What is uniting us now even more? It is our desire to preserve medical freedom and parental rights, the right to choose what is best for our children’s health.
It is our objection to living under medical mandates again.
Having all these experiences as children and young adults, we can observe how easily a helpful intervention or procedure can become a threat when done with no medical consent or when there is a financial interest behind it.
We came to the land of freedom – the land where the rights of an individual, of a family, aren’t sacrificed for the “greater good”. We are striving to make this land a better place for all.
We urge you to veto SB-277, SB792, and AB1117 and preserve California’s freedoms.
Sincerely,
The undersigned Russian Speaking Californians.
