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The Church of Scientology is not anti-vaccination. The church made international news on May 2 when their ship, The Freewinds, was quarantined in St. Lucia following a measles outbreak on board.
The Carribean island’s chief medical officer, Dr. Merlene Fredericks-James, told the New York Times, “Because of the risk of potential infection, not just from the confirmed measles case but from other persons who may be on the boat at the time, we thought it prudent to make a decision not to allow anyone to disembark.”
The Quarantine Comes Amid the Biggest Measles Outbreak in the U.S. in 25 Years
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This comes amid the biggest outbreak of measles in the United States in the past 25 years with over 700 cases being reported. The ship was identified as being owned by the Church of Scientology by St. Lucia Coast Guard Sgt. Victor Theodore in an interview with NBC News.
MarineTraffic.com shows that The Freewinds is moored in St. Lucia as of May 2. Heavy.com has reached out to the Church of Scientology for comment regarding The Freewinds.
According to the church’s website, The Freewinds acts as a “religious retreat ministering the most advanced level of spiritual counseling.” The ship is usually based off of the coast of Venezuela.
‘Scientologists Seek Conventional Medical Treatment for Illnesses & Injuries’
A separate section on the church’s website deal’s with their stance on medical doctors. The blurb reads, “Scientologists seek conventional medical treatment for illnesses and injuries. Scientologists use prescription drugs when physically ill and also rely on the advice and treatment of physicians.” Despite this, the Church of Scientology has an extremely well-known stance on treatments for mental illness and psychiatry.
A statement on the anti-vaccination movement that the church provided to the Hollywood Reporter in 2016 read, “[The Church of Scientology] takes no position one way or the other on this issue.”
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