Gold Coast-based blogger Leila Stead, creator of The Single Mum Diaries, hosted a Facebook live on Tuesday entitled ‘To Vax or Not to Vax’.
It was a discussion about the “right parents should have to choose” to vaccinate their children.
“We should not take away a woman’s right to choose what is best for her children,” Stead, whose 10-month-old daughter is vaccinated, told the camera. “We must try to remember that one thing unites us and that is the love for our children”.
The forum was met with a whirlwind of criticism, and Stead has since addressed the strong reaction in subsequent Facebook and blog posts.
“I am so glad that I posted about this taboo subject because all the different opinions and values are incredible,” Stead said.
“Things like this should be discussed and topics like this should be debated.”
In the accompanying video, she reiterated her belief that mothers should have the right to choose.
“I’m a very open-minded person. I very much believe in the choice and the right to choose,” she told the camera.
“I found that both side of the fence has some really strong arguments. Both sides only want one thing for children: the very best.
“We need to remember that, no matter the choice we make for our children, it doesn’t make us any less of a mother. I for one stand behind a woman’s right to choose.”
In a blog post, she added, “If that makes me irresponsible or stupid, if that makes you view me as someone who is a danger to society then I feel that the issue lies with you, not me.”
This comes just a month after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull wrote to State Premiers around the country urging them to ban un-vaccinated children from enrolling in child car.
“This has got to be a concerted national effort by all governments to ensure all our children can be vaccinated. No jab, no pay, no play,” Turnbull told the ABC in March.