New York set to ban religious exemptions for vaccinations
'We are facing an unprecedented public health crisis,' said the sponsor of the bill
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Your support makes all the difference.After one of the worst measles outbreaks in recent New York history, state lawmakers are planning on eliminating a religious exemption to vaccine requirements.
The exemption, which allows parents to cite religious beliefs to opt out of vaccines required to enrol in schools, is set to be voted on by the Democrat-led assembly and senate.
This comes after the largest measles outbreak in the last 27 years, which stands at over 1,000 cases.
The outbreak was primarily concentrated in Orthodox Jewish areas in New York.
“We are facing an unprecedented public health crisis,” said state Senator Brad Hoylman, a Manhattan based Democrat and the sponsor of the senate bill.
“The atrocious peddlers of junk science and fraudulent medicine who we know as anti-vaxxers have spent years sowing unwarranted doubt and fear, but it is time for legislators to confront them head on.”
This initiative comes during a time where popular figures, like Jessica Biel and Robert F Kennedy Jr, have expressed concerns regarding tightening vaccination mandates.
The bill is supported by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who believes public health is at risk.
“I understand freedom of religion,” he said to the media on Wednesday.
“I have heard the anti-vaxxers’ theory, but I believe both are overwhelmed by the public health risk.”
Some oppose the bill on the basis of religious freedom, but those who support the bill believe that scientific evidence and public health risks should outweigh religious beliefs.
Supporters have also noted that the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in 1905 that states have the right to enforce compulsory vaccination laws, as reported by AP News.
Others are concerned that some people claiming religious exemptions without any basis in religion, but rather for opposition to vaccines based in debunked myths and discredited rumours.
The bill would still allow exceptions for immunocompromised children, and those who can not be vaccinated for medical reasons.
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