Marine who refused anthrax shots given honorable discharged to care

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A Marine private who refused to finish a series of anthrax vaccinations has been honorably discharged<br>because his mother was literally worried sick about the inoculations.<br><br>Pfc.

Thursday, January 20th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A Marine private who refused to finish a series of anthrax vaccinations has been honorably discharged
because his mother was literally worried sick about the inoculations.

Pfc. James O'Neil, 22, was discharged Tuesday at the Marine base at Quantico, Va. He returned to his parents' home in Rochester
Mills, Pa., on Wednesday.

His mother, Martha O'Neil, 46, became distraught about her son's safety after he received three of the six shots. O'Neil has said
his mother's weight dropped from 180 pounds to 120 pounds because of her fears about the shots, which she researched on the Internet.

Last year, O'Neil unsuccessfully asked a federal judge to grant him a hardship discharge from the Marines.

Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Scott Campbell said this week's decision to grant O'Neil an honorable discharge for family hardship was based on medical records O'Neil submitted about his mother.

"It was an honorable discharge that rested exclusively on the health of Mrs. O'Neil," Campbell said. "It was clear her health
continued to decline after the decision was made to excuse him from having to get the remaining shots."

Several Marines and other military personnel have been prosecuted for refusing the shots, and some reservists have quit to
avoid taking them. The military says they are safe. Defense Secretary William Cohen ordered the vaccine as a defense against
biological warfare.

O'Neil's father, also James O'Neil, said Thursday that the family fears his son was sickened by the first shots. He said his son has been sleepy and has had strep throat since Jan. 1, though Mrs. O'Neil said the family has no proof the symptoms are related to the vaccinations.