New Jersey to vote if religion is legal reason to not vaccinate children

Lawmakers in New Jersey are voting today on a bill that would eliminate religion as a legal reason not to vaccinate children.

By DEBORAH DAHAN
Brajtbord administers a shot of gardasil, a Human Papillomavirus vaccine, to a 14-year old patient in Dallas. (photo credit: REUTERS/JESSICA RINALDI)
Brajtbord administers a shot of gardasil, a Human Papillomavirus vaccine, to a 14-year old patient in Dallas.
(photo credit: REUTERS/JESSICA RINALDI)
Lawmakers in New Jersey will vote today on a controversial bill that would remove religious beliefs as a legal reason for children attending public schools in New Jersey to avoid vaccination.
Among those who support the bill, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg told CNN "everyone is entitled to express their opinions, but we have a responsibility to protect the health and safety of all children, the people in their lives and in their communities".
Series of amendments were made to the legislation last Thursday in order to get a final Republican vote for the bill to pass. Among the changes, private schools and day care centers, would now have the freedom to choose whether to accept unvaccinated children or not, as long as they keep the number of unvaccinated enrolled children public.
Those amendments have triggered some reactions, some accusing the bill of favoring wealthy families who can afford to send their children to private schools.
The bill comes to a vote a few days after thousands of protesters gathered outside the New Jersey State House in Trenton to protest the bill, including many angry parents shouting "Kill the bill!" and some calling it a violation of their First Amendment rights. More protests are expected to take place today as well.
A recent study published Monday in the medical journal Pediatrics in fact revealed that an increasing number of parents in the US are using religion as a reason not to vaccinate their children.
Those who oppose the bill include Assemblyman Jamel Holley who wrote on Facebook, "I've been totally against this bill from day one and now I am even more compelled to oppose. This includes bringing along my fellow Members of the Assembly to vote against this discriminatory, unconstitutional, and an over reach of government". State Senator Gerald Cardinale, a Republican, also opposed, calling the bill “a deliberate attack on religious freedom.”
Despite the concerns of some lawmakers and the protests, the bill is expected to pass. As State Senate President Stephen Sweeney told NorthJersey.com, “we’re either going to get it done now or we’re going to get it done in the next session, but by all means this is getting done, ... it’s the right health care policy and it’s based on science, unlike what [the protesters are] chanting and saying. They have a right to their opinion.”
The vote is happening a few months after the outbreaks of measles in New Jersey and other states, most particularly in Orthodox Jewish communities.