A recent news story described a newborn being taken away from her mother shortly after birth because of the mother's refusal to accept a Hepatitis B vaccine. In my law practice, I also hear stories from time to time about newborns being vaccinated in the hospital after birth without the parents' permission and against the parents' wishes. Most of the time, these kind of problems are avoidable with a information about your rights and some common sense preparation.

The mother whose child was taken away had planned a home birth, and made the mistake of not having a contingency plan, a "Plan B" in case they ended up in the hospital, as some planned home births inevitably do for one reason or another. Once in the hospital, they refused the Hep B vaccine, but not in a manner consistent with their state's legal options. Sadly, we don't have the right to decide what goes into our and our children's bodies, at least not absolutely. As disturbing as that be to many of us, it's the legal reality. So, if you're expecting a baby, find out what your state's vaccine requirements and exemption options are!

These may vary from state to state, so go to an authoritative source—a site that posts the actual laws (links to three such sites are here (www.vaccinerights.com/exemptions.html), or to your local or state health department (call them or go to their website). Non-authoritative sources such as anti-vaccine websites mean well, and they often have great information about vaccine health concerns, but they also often misunderstand and misrepresent exemption rights and procedures, and some have lost rights by relying on them. Where legal rights are concerned, if it's important, it's worth getting right the first time.