New Jersey’s Assembly on Monday passed a measure to eliminate religious exemptions for vaccines for schoolchildren, but the bill stalled in the state Senate as opponents shouted so loudly they drowned out the session.
The Democrat-led Assembly passed the bill 45-25, with six abstentions, but the Democrat-controlled state Senate postponed a vote because there weren’t enough yes votes, according to the bill’s sponsor and Senate President Steve Sweeney.
For hours on Monday, loud chants from opponents disrupted the state Senate session, with protesters shouting shouted “We do not consent,” and “In God we trust.”
Sweeney said he will post the bill for a vote again before the legislative session expires next month, but he downplayed the role the protests played in the decision to postpone a vote on the legislation.
“We’re not done with it. They can cheer all they want,” he said. “It’s the right policy decision.”
If signed into law, the measure would end religious exemptions to required immunizations for public and private school children as well as for child care centers.
The Democrat-led Assembly and Senate have set votes for Monday, with the Assembly passing the legislation 45-25, with six abstentions.
If approved the bill would go to Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk. His office declined to say what he would do with the bill.
New Jersey would join a handful of states, including New York and California, in doing away with the religious exemption, if the bill becomes law.
Every state requires some vaccines for students, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, but exemptions differ from state to state. Forty-five states and the District of Columbia allow for religious exemptions to immunizations, according to the conference.
The New Jersey bill gained traction this year, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says has seen the greatest number of measles cases reported since 1992.
The measure preserves exemptions in cases where doctors can cite medical reasons to forgo vaccines.
Opponents argue that the measure infringes on their rights as parents to decide what’s best for their children.
Lawmakers say the bill is necessary to keep children safe and have criticized “misinformation and hysteria swirling” around the bill.
“There is no exemption for drunk driving or wearing a seat belt, there should not be an exemption from a patently safe vaccine that, if not taken, puts the health and well-being of our children at risk,” Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg said.
(AP)
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9 Responses
Bh
I think it’s stupid to not vaccinate. That said, the government shouldn’t assert control over what you do to your body. (Isn’t that how they feel about abortion?)
Scary! This is not another issue of antivaxxers and all the hype about vaccines. Its an issue of the government taking away our rights under the guise of doing whats best for our children blah blah. That’s up to the parents and their pediatricians to decide. Not the govmnt
Dear YWN, there seems to be few omissions in this article. I know you are a pro vaccination and so am I!
This post is about safety and security for all of us as a society, which includes those that are not the part of 95% majority, that never experienced serious adverse side effects of vaccinations.
1. “…the measure would end religious exemptions to required immunizations for public and private school children as well as for child care centers.” Actually, it would require everyone including 60 year old adults taking an online course to be fully vaccinated! So anyone in BMG, including Kollel men will be obligated to catch up with their vaccines or be officially expelled/removed from Yeshiva student body documents. I’m sure you will still be allowed come to seider and learn in Botei Medrashim, but as far as government paperwork is concerned you will be out! Think student loan repayment and gov program applications.
2. “…measure preserves exemptions in cases where doctors can cite medical reasons to forgo vaccines.” There are only two medical reasons that state of NJ allows for medical exemptions: Chemo therapy & Immunosuppression drugs. Unfortunately seizures, allergies and other severe adverse reactions to previous vaccinations are not considered medical reasons in NJ. So children and adults who got hurt by vaccines before will face a very cruel choice, homeschool or another chance of injury. Some severally injured kids will be kicked out from their special education school programs, as happened in NY.
3. “…there should not be an exemption from a patently safe vaccine…” All vaccines have side effects as described in all vaccine inserts, which of some odd reason are not shown to you, the patient, before you take a shot. Shomer Pisoim Hashem! Unfortunately $4,000,000,000 (yes 4 billion US dollars) were paid out so far by vaccine injury compensation fund as per federal government run vaers.hhs.gov website. There is a very real chance of getting hurt!
4. “…the bill is necessary to keep children safe.” Actually, when vaccines are safe and effective our children are safe! But where is the free market incentive to make vaccines safe and effective when there is no choice on consumer side??? When government mandates 100% vaccination by mildly ineffective and not totally safe vaccines – We are all at risk!
5. “…Opponents argue that the measure infringes on their rights as parents to decide what’s best for their children.” Venishmartem Meod Lenafshoiseichem is allot more serious than just a rights as parents to decide what’s best for their children! If you have peanut allergy – you have a mitzva deoraisa not to eat peanut! If you had a life threatening adverse reaction to vaccination you have a mitzva deoraisa not to do it again! This Law will force some parents to choose between Torah education for their children and Venishmartem Meod Lenafshoiseichem!
If those seeking a “religious” exemptions could be isolated from a tzibur consisting of people of multiple religious faiths and their religious preferences didn’t “burden” or “impose risks” on others, that would be fine. That is NOT the case here and for yidden, virtually all of gadolei yisroel have mandated that vaccination is required. This legislation is long overdue and should be enacted asap.
Anti-vaxer opponents of this legislation demonstrated their substantive reasoning skills today by screaming obscenities and insults outside the NJ Senate chambers so today’s vote was delayed so that the police don’t have to drag these idiots out of the capital. Hopefully, they will reschedule soon.
Gadolhadorah, where do you get your news from? They were not screaming obscenities and insults.
They were chanting, Kill the bill, Just vote No, In G-d we trust, and things like that.
Please don’t spread false rumors. Thank you.
(Were there a few people who may have made inappropriate remarks? I really cannot say….but from the live coverage that I watched throughout the day I did not hear anything inappropriate.)
The vote was not delayed because of the protestors. They delayed the vote because those who wanted the bill to pass realized that they would have lost by one vote if the vote took place. That is why they pulled the bill, not because of the dedicated parents who were voicing their opinion, which should be an acceptable procedure in America.
You may not realize it, but you owe them a thank you because they are protecting your rights as an American too. Today it is vaccines, tomorrow it will be schechita, brissim, etc. that will be banned as they are in other countries. An may I ask, have you gotten all your vaccines on the CDC adult schedule?
To Gadolhadorah:
I looked at a few of the online news reports of this story, and none of them mention that the protesters were screaming “insults” and “obscenities.” The only item of that realm is a New York Post story at https://nypost.com/2018/04/06/angry-anti-vax-mob-to-nj-lawmakers-you-are-going-to-hell/, titled “Angry anti-vax mob to NJ lawmakers: ‘You are going to hell!’” Dated April 6, 2018, it reports about a protest at a New Jersey Assembly session OF OVER A YEAR AND A HALF AGO. It claims: “An angry mob of anti-vaccine parents shook their fists and screamed, ‘You are going to hell!’ and ‘You Democrats destroy America!’ at New Jersey lawmakers . . . . ” So, yes, at THAT year-&-a-half-ago-demonstration, THOSE protesters were reported as being pretty insulting (but even there, there was no indication of any obscenities).
However, like the comment above by “Gold,” regarding THIS demonstration that occurred YESTERDAY, December, 17, 2019, I too want to ask you if you could you please tell us which news reports relate or/and which videos show that THESE protesters were actually screaming “insults” and “obscenities”???
(Continuation of my previous remark)
The truth though, is that whatever “sharp words” that yesterday’s protesters actually did say, and even the heavy insults that the April 6, 2018 protesters did say, they all were still NOT EVEN ONE ONE-THOUSANDTH of the virtually infinite mean vile vitriol scorn and insults and name-calling and condemnations and expulsion from schools and expulsion from Yeshivos and barred from Shuls and barred from carnivals and barred from playgrounds and barred from other public places that have been unceasingly poured out upon people who declined to “get their shots” or who even “dared” to “question” the holy, holy, holy vaccinations!!