Testimony by Judy Converse about the Hepatitis B Vaccine 1999 Congressional Hearing

(found on Dr. Judy's transcripts: https://therealdrjudy.com/judy-mikovits-transcripts/)

Judy Converse, MPH, RD, LD: Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I regret having a reason to speak here today and have no other reason to do so except for the sake of truth. I live in Massachusetts. I wish to state also that I hold a Master's Degree in Public Health, and I'm a registered dietitian, and I was trained to accept and encourage immunization, and was in no way inclined against immunizing my son, Benjamin, he's two and a half now. I'd also like to say there's no history of autism or seizure disorder in my family or my husband's family. If Ben were here today, he'd appear normal to you, but I will try to explain a little bit about his disability, which he struggles with every day. He was born full term, normal in every way, vaginal birth, with no interventions or drugs. His Apgar scores were nine and 10, which means all his reflexes were perfect and present before discharge, he was immunized with recombivax HB against hepatitis B. Neither I nor my husband recall receiving informed consent for this vaccine, nor do we recall seeing him get the shot. But it is in his immunization record, no signed informed consent specific to this vaccine was present in the copy of Ben's medical record, which we recently requested. His fourth night in this world was his first at home, and about five hours after arriving home, he had his first seizure. Frantic calls to maternity and pediatric staff fell on deaf ears. The extent of the medical advice we received was to put him on our clothes dryer and turn it on.
No one mentioned the vaccine. No one expressed concern that he was turning blue, that he couldn't stop screaming, or that he appeared to be having tremors or full-body spasms. Then had three more seizures losing consciousness in the next eight days, as well as many episodes of arching his spine rigidly without losing consciousness. He vomited forcefully every day, had a recurring mild fever, eczema, was unable to remain asleep, had diarrhea, cried constantly, but no one thought, no one thought any of this was out of the ordinary. I was told these things were normal for a breastfed infant, which, of course, I knew was not true because of my training and background. He was only 12 days old. The third time he passed out, he did not resume consciousness. His breathing was slow and shallow and he was cyanotic at the emergency room, he was tested for several diagnoses, and all were negative or inconclusive. He was observed overnight, and after nearly losing him, we were sent home the next day with a shrug, no one mentioned the vaccine. Obviously, no one knew what was wrong. No one expressed interest or concern for the events of the previous week, and no one advised us in any way about what appeared to be seizures and a struggle for his life. Ben's medical record even states, in a gross understatement, that his first days of life prior to this admission were uneventful. The same doctor who wrote this note privately admonished me for agreeing with the attending pediatricians to spare Ben the trauma of another Spinal Tap, convinced Ben had meningitis, he said, and I quote, “It's people like you who cause lifelong mental retardation." Ben's discharge note states only that he had apnea, despite having tested negative for it. We entered the hospital looking for answers but left with none. He worsened with the second immunization for Hep B at age four weeks. This was when I realized he had been given the shot at birth and it was probably causing his problems. I asked for a delay for Ben's other immunizations at two months and was refused. I knew that accepted pediatric practice dictates that a sick child should not be immunized, but the doctor refused. When I persisted, he told me we could either immunize Ben on schedule, which we had to do, because it was the law, or we could call DSS. With this threat, Ben was immunized and all his symptoms worsened. At four months, he was immunized again at six months, I refused further shots and switched doctors. He was seen by neurologists and developmental specialists, but no one could explain why he was too floppy to attempt normal developmental tasks. Couldn't sleep, suckled poorly, kept vomiting, why eczema persisted despite being breastfed, why he passed out in shock when he heard Velcro, plastic bags or aluminum foil? By age 10 months, he could not pull himself to sitting or crawl and could not roll over. We sought help from the early intervention program and then qualified for services based on his motor delays. For the first time, a formal acknowledgment of his delays was drafted. Reflexes, which were normal at birth, had disintegrated, and protective responses inexplicably delayed. Ben had two or three seizures a week during his infancy and early toddlerhood. The events of these seizures never vary, and then had one as recently as two months ago. He cries hard with one breath, which seems to empty his lungs, and he is then silent,
....mouth open, not breathing, and struggling for air. ... Excuse me....
As he suffocates, he turns red, then blue, then purple. His extremities become blue. His limbs flail as if he is drowning, often on his left side, then will have a flapping tremor of his hand while his arm, neck and shoulder are rigidly flexed as his asphyxiation is complete, he is gray, his eyes lose their luster, his pupils dilate and his eyes roll back in his head, and then he is unconscious. He usually regains consciousness quickly once his muscles are relaxed and he can breathe again. But these episodes are traumatic, exhausting and frightening for Ben.
They invariably occur in response to a stimulus he can't manage, whether it's auditory anxiety related or from a fall or bump. Even though Ben had seizures like this when he was just a few days old, we were told they were breath-holding spells, which he consciously contrived in response to our overprotectiveness. The doctors told us we were causing Ben's seizures odd behaviors and delays by bad parenting. I was told I over-nursed him by one neurologist and asked why I needed something to be wrong with my son by a pediatric developmental specialist. I believe this is a grossly ignorant assessment of what may be grand mal seizure episodes. Ben also appears to have fatigue mal seizures, in which he rolls his eyes back in his head and grimaces, pierces the air above his head with his left hand, elbow locked and hand quivering.
Ben was diagnosed with autism recently and sensory integrative disorder last fall. He can't reliably sense, organize, or prioritize information he receives about anything in the world. He can't be placed in group daycare. He's terrified of his own peers. These few examples really don't describe how profoundly disabled he is now.
I would especially like to state that our pediatric providers were very unsupportive, and I do believe my son would have died if I followed their advice. We've had very little guidance from them through this journey. His current physician agrees not to immunize him and has supported our referrals, but she has not reported his reaction and discouraged me from doing so. She told me we would be harassed by the Massachusetts State Department of Public Health and forced to prove damage from each vaccine with invasive blood tests. When we asked for a medical waiver, she gave us only a vague, philosophical one.
She acknowledged to me that the hepatitis vaccine is an unnecessary affront to an infant's well-being, and she refuses to give the younger two of her three children this vaccine because it is of no benefit. I have no doubt in my mind that this vaccine damaged my son. Not just because he was normal at birth, full term, with a family history void of these problems, but because the progression of events, after the shot, are in keeping with criteria for a Hep. B vaccine adverse event listed by the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. The fact that the pediatric community failed to recognize his reaction in no way exonerates them or the vaccine industry. It simply means that 1000s of healthy newborns will slip through the cracks with severe reactions and be untreated and unacknowledged.
And after reading data on hepatitis B in the US as a person trained in Public Health Sciences, it is plain to me that a program to vaccinate newborns is of no worth to anyone except those who sell vaccines. The immunity in imparts wears off before a child is old enough to have sex with an infected partner or use contaminated needles, which are the foremost modes of transmission. Therefore, it's my opinion, there is no benefit and only risk for newborns receiving this vaccine. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony.

Article about the May 18 1999 congressional hearing: https://www.nvic.org/news-media-reports/press-releases/hepatitis-b-vaccine-congressional-hearing-may-19,-1999