Summary
A father whose unvaccinated six-year-old daughter became the first U.S. measles death in 10 years remains steadfast in his anti-vaccine beliefs.
The Mennonite man from Seminole, Texas told The Atlantic, “The vaccination has stuff we don’t trust,” maintaining that measles is normal despite its near-eradication through vaccination.
His stance echoes claims by HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., who initially downplayed the current North American outbreak before changing his position under scrutiny.
Despite his daughter’s death, the father stated, “Everybody has to die.”
Then why are they mennonites?
I think this question could be interpreted in many ways, but typically education is correlated with more religious participation.
For Mennonites specifically, education is one of their core values. They also did a study on what matters most to their members that you can check if you’re interested: https://www.mennoniteusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/MC-USA-Report-FN-compressed-1.pdf
Personally, I think a lot of their belief system and activism efforts just make sense and appeal based on their own merits.
Then why are they anti-vaxxers?