San Diego Union-Tribune
February 18, 2000
Miramar Marine Court-Martialed Over Vaccine
Puts family first; wife says she'd have divorced him
By James W. Crawley, Staff Writer
Some members of Congress have serious doubts about the
military's
anthrax vaccination program, but political criticism wasn't
enough to
help Marine Cpl. Daniel W. Stephens yesterday.
He became the 37th service member court-martialed for disobeying
orders to take the vaccinations.
"The simple fact is the Marine Corps and I won't see eye to eye
on
this," Stephens, a 23-year-old helicopter mechanic, said after
he was
sentenced to one month in the brig, reduction in rank to lance
corporal, forfeiture of $200 pay and a bad-conduct discharge.
"I will not follow the order," he said.
He and his wife had testified yesterday before a military judge
at
Miramar Marine Corps Air Station that the anthrax vaccine would
endanger his life and those of his unborn children.
In December 1998, Stephens was demoted from sergeant to corporal
for
refusing an earlier order to take the first of six required
shots.
Yesterday's special court-martial involved a second order, in
October, to be inoculated.
The House Government Reform Committee's subcommittee on national
security sharply criticized the Pentagon program and urged the
military to suspend the program until an improved vaccine is
available. The military ordered the shots as a defense against
the
use of anthrax as a biological weapon against troops.
Stephens and his wife, MaryAlice Stephens, both testified that
they
feared the vaccine would cause various life-threatening
diseases,
including cancer, and might affect any children they conceived
in the
future.
"My role as a husband and a family man takes precedence over the
Marines," Stephens told the military judge, Lt. Col. Steven
Folsom,
who heard the case without a jury.
His wife's testimony described how she had researched the
controversial vaccination program, spoken to experts and
concluded
that the vaccine was harmful.
MaryAlice Stephens was so convinced of the danger that she told
her
husband she would divorce him if was inoculated, she testified.
When questioned by Marine prosecutor Capt. Breven Parsons about
her
opinions and research on other vaccines, she said, "I'm not
against
vaccines, I'm against the anthrax vaccine."
A Navy doctor rebutted the wife's testimony, saying the vaccine
had
been thoroughly tested and was safe.
Earlier, Stephens' commanding officer, Lt. Col. James Taylor,
testified that he viewed the vaccination requirement in a light
similar to an order for a Marine to wear a helmet and flak
jacket
when they are in combat.
"The vaccine is inside protection," Taylor said.
Asked about yesterday's congressional report decrying the
vaccination
program, Stephens said it may help his appeal of the bad-conduct
discharge.
And, he said, the report shows "my reasons for not taking the
vaccine
aren't that far-fetched."
The Marines have been the most aggressive branch of the service
to
prosecute for refusal to take the vaccine. So far, 31 Marines
have
been court-martialed.
After the trial, prosecutor Parsons said the case was about a
Marine
refusing to follow a lawful order.
"The most important thing is, if a corporal disobeys an order in
the
Marine Corps, he gets a bad-conduct discharge," the prosecutor
said.
--------------------
San Diego Union-Tribune
February 18, 2000
<bold><bigger>Miramar Marine Court-Martialed Over Vaccine
</bigger></bold>Puts family first; wife says she'd have divorced
him
By James W. Crawley, Staff Writer
Some members of Congress have serious doubts about the
military's
anthrax vaccination program, but political criticism wasn't
enough to
help Marine Cpl. Daniel W. Stephens yesterday.
He became the 37th service member court-martialed for disobeying
orders
to take the vaccinations.
"The simple fact is the Marine Corps and I won't see eye to eye
on
this," Stephens, a 23-year-old helicopter mechanic, said after
he was
sentenced to one month in the brig, reduction in rank to lance
corporal, forfeiture of $200 pay and a bad-conduct discharge.
"I will not follow the order," he said.
He and his wife had testified yesterday before a military judge
at
Miramar Marine Corps Air Station that the anthrax vaccine would
endanger his life and those of his unborn children.
In December 1998, Stephens was demoted from sergeant to corporal
for
refusing an earlier order to take the first of six required
shots.
Yesterday's special court-martial involved a second order, in
October,
to be inoculated.
The House Government Reform Committee's subcommittee on national
security sharply criticized the Pentagon program and urged the
military
to suspend the program until an improved vaccine is available.
The
military ordered the shots as a defense against the use of
anthrax as a
biological weapon against troops.
Stephens and his wife, MaryAlice Stephens, both testified that
they
feared the vaccine would cause various life-threatening
diseases,
including cancer, and might affect any children they conceived
in the
future.
"My role as a husband and a family man takes precedence over the
Marines," Stephens told the military judge, Lt. Col. Steven
Folsom, who
heard the case without a jury.
His wife's testimony described how she had researched the
controversial
vaccination program, spoken to experts and concluded that the
vaccine
was harmful.
MaryAlice Stephens was so convinced of the danger that she told
her
husband she would divorce him if was inoculated, she testified.
When questioned by Marine prosecutor Capt. Breven Parsons about
her
opinions and research on other vaccines, she said, "I'm not
against
vaccines, I'm against the anthrax vaccine."
A Navy doctor rebutted the wife's testimony, saying the vaccine
had
been thoroughly tested and was safe.
Earlier, Stephens' commanding officer, Lt. Col. James Taylor,
testified
that he viewed the vaccination requirement in a light similar to
an
order for a Marine to wear a helmet and flak jacket when they
are in
combat.
"The vaccine is inside protection," Taylor said.
Asked about yesterday's congressional report decrying the
vaccination
program, Stephens said it may help his appeal of the bad-conduct
discharge.
And, he said, the report shows "my reasons for not taking the
vaccine
aren't that far-fetched."
The Marines have been the most aggressive branch of the service
to
prosecute for refusal to take the vaccine. So far, 31 Marines
have been
court-martialed.
After the trial, prosecutor Parsons said the case was about a
Marine
refusing to follow a lawful order.
"The most important thing is, if a corporal disobeys an order in
the
Marine Corps, he gets a bad-conduct discharge," the prosecutor
said.
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