California politicians urge repeal of 'opt out' provision of vaccination law [San Jose Mercury News] - http://www.mercurynews.com/health...
Feb 5, 2015
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From the article: "SACRAMENTO -- Two state senators said Wednesday they will introduce legislation to eliminate a controversial 'personal belief exemption' that allows California parents to refuse to vaccinate their children.
'We shouldn't wait for more children to sicken or die before we act,' Sen. Richard Pan, a Sacramento Democrat who is also a pediatrician, said at a Wednesday news conference. 'Parents are letting us know our current laws are insufficient to protect their kids.' "
- Stephen Mack
I'm not sure making it mandatory will make the debate any less heated, but I can see an analogy to car seat laws for children.
- Stephen Mack
To be fair, two states (MS & WV) already make vaccines mandatory except in cases of medical exemption. CA is really only looking at change the nature of their exemption policy, which would put it in line with about half the country: http://www.slate.com/article... Personal belief exemptions aren't the norm and require less documentation than religious exemptions (usually, some states only require you to claim a religion that opposes injections, the others require proof of membership and, in some cases, participation).
- Soup in a TARDIS
Thanks, Soup, that's a good article.
- Stephen Mack
We had a Waldorf school for my son's Kindergarten year, and the personal exemption rate was 70% or so. Aside from the expense, that was a huge factor for me in not having him return there for first grade.
- Stephen Mack