She and her husband, Michael Beglinger, 51, live with their three children in Los Angeles, where a measles outbreak has pushed some parents to extremes in a heated debate over vaccination.

The area is one of a few pockets across the United States where a small but significant number of parents delay vaccinations until they believe their children's immune systems are strong, or refuse them altogether, citing much-disputed reports that vaccines can cripple children. Other parents, and much of the medical establishment, accuse them of endangering the larger population.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and medical experts say that at least 92 percent of children should be vaccinated to create enough of a herd-immunity effect to protect a community.