Summarize:

You're allowed to have questions and worries. Many parents do, especially because there is so much misinformation. It's okay to feel nervous.  Try asking your doctor about vaccines. Ask them any questions you might have about how to keep your child safe. Look at evidence from research about the safety of vaccines. Stay away from fearmongering or conspiracy theorist websites. They may say inaccurate things to prey on parents' fears. The first step in this process is to learn what your child will be missing out on if you decide not to have them vaccinated. All 50 U.S. states have mandatory child vaccination laws that were put in place to protect American citizens from deadly infectious diseases like measles and whooping cough. Inform yourself about the diseases mandatory vaccines protect against and any medically established complication risks.   Look for fact-based sources. There are a lot of people on the internet spreading a lot of misinformation that has no medical or scientific validity. Avoid blogs, editorials, and opinion pieces when researching vaccines. Stick to objective, peer-reviewed scientific studies published in reputable journals, or by trusted sources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Pay attention to statistics about the side effects. Many vaccines carry a very low risk of developing any side effects at all. Potentially adverse effects at the severe end of the spectrum are usually associated with allergies or specific medical conditions, and pose zero risk to most children. Exhaustive studies have shown no connection between autism and the MMR vaccine, or any vaccine. Researchers now understand that autism begins before birth, with signs being noticed in the 2nd trimester of pregnancy, even though most parents don't notice before the age of 2. Your child cannot be turned autistic; they were either born autistic or born non-autistic.  The single study that proposed a link was found to be deliberately fraudulent, with cherry-picked and forged data. Lawyers were paying Andrew Wakefield to say that the MMR vaccine caused autism, and Wakefield wanted to create his own vaccine. The paper gained traction in the public eye, despite being incredibly unprofessional. No independent researcher has been able to replicate the results. Rising diagnoses of autism reflect better understanding and diagnosis of the disability, not rising rates. Fewer autistic people are going undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.  Autistic adults have argued that being autistic is better than dying of a vaccine-preventable disease. Even if vaccines somehow did occasionally cause autism, being autistic and alive is better than dying of post-polio syndrome. Stay away from agenda-driven, fearmongering sources. They are likely to make inaccurate claims just to scare you. Once you know what your state's mandatory vaccines are designed to do and the likelihood and severity of potential complications, you can evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of vaccinating your child. Be sure to consider issues relevant to both your child and your community as a whole.  Make a list for each vaccine in question. While you might not easily arrive at a decision based strictly on the number of benefits versus drawbacks of a having your child vaccinated, this is a good place to start. Take into consideration the weight of the various factors on your list. For some perspective, it may help to look up and write down the symptoms and pre-vaccine fatality rates of the diseases the vaccines are designed to protect against. Recognize that a healthy lifestyle will not stop your child from getting vaccine-preventable diseases. Vegetables can't stop measles from making a child turn deaf. In some countries, there can be legal consequences if parents refuse to provide vaccines to their children, and the children die or are severely harmed as a result. A surviving child may have grounds to sue the parents. If the child dies, the parents may go to trial in criminal court for negligence. Fines are also possible in some countries, even if the child does not get sick. Children often bear the brunt of the risks when they are not vaccinated. Examples of issues that can be caused by lack of vaccination include:  Increased risk of serious and painful illness, and death Permanent complications from illnesses, such as yellow teeth, scarred lungs, scarred skin, deafness, brain damage, or infertility  Limited opportunities for school, travel, etc. Fewer friends, due to adults (including friends and family) not wanting to risk their children's health, especially if their child is very young or immunocompromised  Feeling upset that you put them at risk Feeling like they can't tell you if they do want vaccines  Feeling unsupported if they turn out to have a disability such as autism Many parents who choose not to vaccinate their children justify their decision based on the idea that their kids are unlikely to contract a disease or spread it if they are surrounded by others who are vaccinated—a notion referred to as "herd immunity" or "community immunity." Consider the ethical implications of depending on the immunizations of others to protect your child (and others' children) before buying into this idea.  Recognize that you are jeopardizing other people's children too. Some people, such as cancer patients, immunocompromised children, and babies not vaccinated yet, depend on herd immunity for their safety. Parents will do their best to keep immunocompromised children away from your unvaccinated child, but it is still possible for your child to infect and unwittingly disable or kill them.  It is important to realize that by not vaccinating your child, you may be accidentally promoting the outbreak of devastating diseases in your own community. Herd immunity is only effective if 95 to 99% of the population is vaccinated; due to opt-outs, some places in the U.S. now have vaccination rates as low as fifty percent.  Even if you decide that the weak communal protection afforded by herd immunity is reason enough to opt out of vaccinations, know that your child will always be susceptible to preventable diseases if they remain unvaccinated. This will mean, for example, that for the rest of their life, they will not be safe to travel to places where vaccines are less commonly used. If you are having a hard time making sense of all the information out there on child immunization, speak to a physician about the realities of opting out of vaccines. If you still decide to opt out, tell your family practitioner or pediatrician about your decision and ask for help with the exemption paperwork, which in some states requires the signature of a medical doctor.  Ask the doctor what they recommend to keep your child safe from dangerous diseases. Try asking them if they can share any pamphlets or online resources for you to read. Make sure your doctor is aware of the current research and scientific consensus regarding vaccines and associated risks. Even physicians can be misinformed! Get a second opinion if you feel it is necessary. In order to get unbiased information from your doctor, keep any personal opinions about this issue to yourself during your first conversation. Your doctor may be more likely to relay just the facts if you simply tell them you'd like to learn the details of vaccination pros and cons.
Remember that it's okay to have concerns about vaccination. Research the vaccines required by your state. Dismiss the myths about vaccines and autism. Weigh the pros and cons. Weigh the potential consequences for your child. Get the facts on herd immunity. Talk to your family doctor.