Swordsmyth
02-08-2019, 08:04 PM
The New Jersey Assembly passed a measure late last week removing the religious exemption as a reason parents can refrain from having their children vaccinated.
While the measure was just an amendment to a larger bill on mandatory immunization (A-3818) (https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2018/Bills/A4000/3818_R1.HTM), it signaled a new position state officials may be taking in the controversial vaccination debate.
Under current New Jersey law, students in public and private school must be vaccinated for a list of diseases unless they claim that doing so would be medically risky or that it violates a religious tenet in which they believe. But with a measles outbreak near Portland, OR, where at least 44 people in that state and Washington have fallen ill in recent weeks, and a measles flare-up in nearby Ocean County last year, calls for mandatory vaccination have become more vociferous.
“I think many, including those who availed themselves of it, have been uncomfortable with the government intruding into the religious space,” said health committee chairman Herb Conaway Jr. (D-Burlington), who sponsored the bill and the amendment. “I was convinced when you took everything together, the uncomfortable nature of asking someone about their religious tenets, and the difficulty government has in deciding whether those religious tenets are bona fide, that it would be simpler to remove the religious exemption, in furtherance of the goal of near universal mandatory vaccination.”
Religious and public-health concerns When asked whether removing the exemption was more about public-health concerns than about treading on religious rights, Conaway, a physician for whom mandatory vaccination legislation has been a long-time priority, said it’s both.
“It’s no secret I believe public health is critically important to protecting the lives of children and the public at large. But I also believe strongly in the First Amendment, and I think the government should tread very lightly — if at all — regarding religion and religious tenets,” Conaway said. “I think this bill and the amendment puts us on the right path with respect to the demands of public health, and our long tradition of noninterference with religion.”
The religious exemption isn’t dead just yet. The bill still has some hefty hurdles to get over: It must pass the full Assembly, and the Senate version of the bill, S-2173, would also have to be amended and passed. Calls to the original bill’s sponsors, Sens. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) and Joe Vitale (D-Middlesex), were not returned. It’s unclear whether they would support Conaway’s amendment.
But putting an end to the religious exemption certainly has its supporters, particularly among public-health officials.
More at: https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/19/02/06/lawmakers-moves-to-end-religious-exemption-for-mandatory-vaccinations/
Patient Zero in Washington Measles outbreak was a “person from outside the country.” (https://news4sanantonio.com/news/nation-world/patient-zero-identified-in-washington-state-measles-outbreak) Unvaccinated children are not the cause – immigrants are.
While the measure was just an amendment to a larger bill on mandatory immunization (A-3818) (https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2018/Bills/A4000/3818_R1.HTM), it signaled a new position state officials may be taking in the controversial vaccination debate.
Under current New Jersey law, students in public and private school must be vaccinated for a list of diseases unless they claim that doing so would be medically risky or that it violates a religious tenet in which they believe. But with a measles outbreak near Portland, OR, where at least 44 people in that state and Washington have fallen ill in recent weeks, and a measles flare-up in nearby Ocean County last year, calls for mandatory vaccination have become more vociferous.
“I think many, including those who availed themselves of it, have been uncomfortable with the government intruding into the religious space,” said health committee chairman Herb Conaway Jr. (D-Burlington), who sponsored the bill and the amendment. “I was convinced when you took everything together, the uncomfortable nature of asking someone about their religious tenets, and the difficulty government has in deciding whether those religious tenets are bona fide, that it would be simpler to remove the religious exemption, in furtherance of the goal of near universal mandatory vaccination.”
Religious and public-health concerns When asked whether removing the exemption was more about public-health concerns than about treading on religious rights, Conaway, a physician for whom mandatory vaccination legislation has been a long-time priority, said it’s both.
“It’s no secret I believe public health is critically important to protecting the lives of children and the public at large. But I also believe strongly in the First Amendment, and I think the government should tread very lightly — if at all — regarding religion and religious tenets,” Conaway said. “I think this bill and the amendment puts us on the right path with respect to the demands of public health, and our long tradition of noninterference with religion.”
The religious exemption isn’t dead just yet. The bill still has some hefty hurdles to get over: It must pass the full Assembly, and the Senate version of the bill, S-2173, would also have to be amended and passed. Calls to the original bill’s sponsors, Sens. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) and Joe Vitale (D-Middlesex), were not returned. It’s unclear whether they would support Conaway’s amendment.
But putting an end to the religious exemption certainly has its supporters, particularly among public-health officials.
More at: https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/19/02/06/lawmakers-moves-to-end-religious-exemption-for-mandatory-vaccinations/
Patient Zero in Washington Measles outbreak was a “person from outside the country.” (https://news4sanantonio.com/news/nation-world/patient-zero-identified-in-washington-state-measles-outbreak) Unvaccinated children are not the cause – immigrants are.