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posted by janrinok on Wednesday May 08 2019, @04:02PM   Printer-friendly
from the greater-good dept.

foxnews.com/us/states-seek-to-cut-off-religious-exemptions-for-vaccination

Connecticut's Attorney General gave state lawmakers the legal go-ahead Monday to pursue legislation that would prevent parents from exempting their children from vaccinations for religious reasons, a move that several states are considering amid a significant measles outbreak.

The non-binding ruling from William Tong, a Democrat, was released the same day public health officials in neighboring New York called on state legislators there to pass similar legislation . Most of the cases in the current outbreak have been in New York state.

[...] Connecticut is just one of several states considering whether to end longstanding laws that allow people to opt out of vaccinations for religious purposes. In the face of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, some have alleged religious exemptions have been abused by "anti-vaxxers" who believe vaccines are harmful despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

But the proposals to eliminate the opt-outs have also sparked emotional debates about religious freedom and the rights of parents.

Most religions have no prohibitions against vaccinations, according to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee. Yet the number of people seeking the religious exemption in Connecticut has been consistently climbing. There were 316 issued during the 2003-04 school year, compared to 1,255 in the 2017-18 school year.

[...] All 50 states have laws requiring students to have certain vaccinations. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, all but Mississippi, West Virginia and California grant religious exemptions. As of Jan. 30, the conference said 17 states allowed people to exempt their children for personal, moral or other philosophical beliefs.


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by mhajicek on Wednesday May 08 2019, @09:32PM (7 children)

    by mhajicek (51) on Wednesday May 08 2019, @09:32PM (#841018)

    As much as I believe that vaccines are good, and not getting them is selfish and inconsiderate, I do not believe that the government should have the authority to decide what goes in my body. Establishing that precedent is dangerous.

    --
    The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by PinkyGigglebrain on Wednesday May 08 2019, @09:52PM (3 children)

    by PinkyGigglebrain (4458) on Wednesday May 08 2019, @09:52PM (#841026)

    "...I do not believe that the government should have the authority to decide what goes in my body.

    What about EPA regulations about the amount of arsenic, lead, and other heavy metal contamination of your drinking water? Think those are a bad idea too?

    One of the core jobs of a government is to protect ALL it's citizens, and sometimes that means they need trample on the rights of individuals. I believe this is one of those times.

    --
    "Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
    • (Score: 2) by SomeGuy on Wednesday May 08 2019, @10:28PM

      by SomeGuy (5632) on Wednesday May 08 2019, @10:28PM (#841057)

      Except those are basically the opposite. These help keep unwanted things OUT of you. You can still make the informed choice to mix lead into your cup of water, if you want.

      If it was law to drink the government's secret kool-aid, would you? Perhaps eventually they will require eveyone to install borg implants? There really are not too many examples of things being forced IN to people. (Other than having the entire "in god we trust" shit shoved up everyones assholes)

      If it were a vaccine or preventative medication for some disease that did not instantly try to infect everyone around, then it would seem wrong to force someone. But in this case the un-vaccinated become a serious danger to the public.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 09 2019, @02:14AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 09 2019, @02:14AM (#841148)

      Exactly. The great protector protects all of us, not each of us. If one of us must die for the protection of the rest, so be it. All hail the great protector!

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 09 2019, @07:53PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 09 2019, @07:53PM (#841504)

      you're a fucking idiot

  • (Score: 2) by Fluffeh on Wednesday May 08 2019, @10:02PM

    by Fluffeh (954) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday May 08 2019, @10:02PM (#841033) Journal

    The government already through agencies decides that.

    Safe drinking water has to meet requirements set out by... the government.
    Pollutants released into the atmosphere are regulated by... the government.
    Medicines must meet.. government standards... to be considered legal to use.

    And realistically, it is the governments role to protect it's society as a whole. That means doing the most it can to control all manner of dangers, from fires breaking out (and having a fire department) to dangerous citizens (therefore police and sheriff departments) to controllable diseases such as polio, measles and a whole bunch of others along with them. Anyone using religion as a reason why they can't be vaccinated i merely using some quirk of that religion's texts or beliefs to further their own want to not be vaccinated.

    I really should drink more coffee before posting, as this is probably harsher than I would normally state.

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Thexalon on Wednesday May 08 2019, @11:44PM (1 child)

    by Thexalon (636) on Wednesday May 08 2019, @11:44PM (#841079)

    I do not believe that the government should have the authority to decide what goes in my body. Establishing that precedent is dangerous.

    And how many children, either stuck with stupid parents/guardians or too young to get vaccinated, should die of measles and other easily preventable diseases to protect that principle? Because that's pretty dangerous too.

    --
    The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 09 2019, @07:56PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 09 2019, @07:56PM (#841505)

      children are the responsibility of the parent, not your fucking authoritarian "society". i accept no responsibility for other people's kids. How they raise their kids is on them.