Anti-Vax Parents Defend Stance After Daughter’s Measles Death, Call Illness ‘Not That Bad’

On March 21, 2025, a Texas couple from the Mennonite community, whose unvaccinated 6-year-old daughter died from measles last month, appeared in a video produced by the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense. The interview, reported by Mother Jones, captured the parents defending their choice not to vaccinate, even after their daughter’s death—the first U.S. child fatality from measles in nearly a decade. Their four other children also contracted milder cases during the same outbreak.

Speaking with journalist Polly Tommey, the parents praised alternative treatments from Dr. Ben Edwards’ clinic, asserting that access to such untested methods made the MMR vaccine unnecessary. “We spent the morning at Dr. Ben Edwards’ clinic, and the parents are all still sitting there saying they would rather have this than the MMR vaccination because they’ve seen so much injury,” Tommey noted. The mother reinforced this, saying, “Absolutely [do] not take the MMR [vaccine]. The measles wasn’t that bad. [The other children] got over it pretty quickly. And Dr. Edwards was there for us.”

The couple described their daughter’s symptoms, which began with fever, respiratory issues, and the characteristic measles rash. Days later, her condition deteriorated—fever persisted, breathing became labored, and she developed pneumonia. After hospital admission and ventilator support in the ICU, she passed away. Despite this, the parents maintained their anti-vaccine stance.

The Texas measles outbreak has prompted public health responses, including from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former vaccine skeptic. In a March 2025 Fox Digital op-ed, he called vaccination a “personal” choice but urged it to curb the disease’s spread, writing, “Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons.”

**Links and References:**

- Original article: [Latin Times - Anti-Vaxx Mom Whose Daughter Died From Measles Says Disease 'Wasn't That Bad'](https://www.latintimes.com/anti-vaxx-mom-whose-daughter-died-measles-says-disease-wasnt-bad-513789)

- Mother Jones report: [Mother Jones - Anti-Vaccine Parents Defend Choice After Child’s Death](https://www.motherjones.com/health/2025/03/anti-vaccine-parents-texas-measles-death) (Note: Hypothetical link as exact URL not specified)

- Fox Digital op-ed: [Fox Digital - RFK Jr. on Measles Vaccination](https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/rfk-jr-measles-vaccination) (Note: Hypothetical link as exact URL not specified)