Vaccines Archives - American Atheists

Connecticut Eliminates Dangerous Religious Exemptions to School Vaccination Requirements

American Atheists — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 21:23:27 +0000

Hartford, CT—Today the religious equality watchdog American Atheists praised Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont for signing into law HB 6423, a bill that eliminates any religious exemptions from mandatory school vaccinations. With the passage of this bill, Connecticut joins other nearby states such as New York and Maine, which have already eliminated nonmedical exemptions to vaccination requirements. “Eliminating religious exemptions ensures that all people—whether religious or nonreligious—receive equal treatment under the law, a foundational principle of our democracy,” said Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy, who submitted testimony on the bill. “This is a resounding victory for religious equality.” “No one’s religious beliefs should let them expose others—especially immunocompromised children—to deadly diseases,” she added. “Studies have shown that these types of nonmedical exemptions can cause or amplify outbreaks of preventable disease.” As the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear, nonmedical exemptions to vaccination are not required under the Constitution. In Prince v. Massachusetts (1944), the Court said that “[t]he right to practice religion freely does not include liberty to expose the community or child communicable disease, or the latter to ill health or death…. Parents may be free to become martyrs themselves. But it does not follow they are free, in identical circumstances, to make martyrs of their children before they reached the age of full and legal discretion when they can make that choice for themselves.” American Atheists’ Connecticut State Director Dennis Paul Himes said, “I applaud Governor Lamont and the General Assembly for recognizing that religious exceptionalism has no place in our state. The health and safety of our children should be our first priority, and thanks to their action in passing and signing this bill, it now is.” “Governor Lamont and the Connecticut legislature showed what’s possible when policymakers put the health and safety of their community first,” said Nick Fish, president of American Atheists. “Now it’s time for more states to follow Connecticut’s example and eliminate these dangerous exemptions that put children at risk, especially those who can’t be vaccinated for medical reasons. We’re going to keep working to end these exemptions in more states across the country.”

The post Connecticut Eliminates Dangerous Religious Exemptions to School Vaccination Requirements appeared first on American Atheists.

Connecticut Residents: Eliminate Dangerous Religious Exemptions to Vaccination

American Atheists — Thu, 22 Apr 2021 15:00:00 +0000

Under current law, Connecticut allows children to attend school and daycare without receiving legally required vaccination if their parents have a religious objection. Unfortunately, in recent years, we have seen measles outbreaks across the nation, and too often these types of religious exemptions to vaccination are the cause. Fortunately, the Connecticut legislature is considering a bill (HB 6423) to address this issue and eliminate the religious exemption loopholes that endanger children. Please take action today—tell your Connecticut senator to protect all children from preventable infectious disease! This bill has already passed the Connecticut House and committee in the Senate. It just needs a final vote in the Senate to move forward and become law. Then Connecticut can join states like New York and Maine, which repealed dangerous religious exemptions to vaccination in recent years. However, Connecticut lawmakers are hearing a lot from the other side—those who would refuse vaccination even if it means putting other children at risk. Connecticut lawmakers need to hear from you—please tell your state senator to support this life-saving bill! Together, we can pass these vital protections into law. Image by Heather Hazzan under CC BY 2.0

The post Connecticut Residents: Eliminate Dangerous Religious Exemptions to Vaccination appeared first on American Atheists.

American Atheists Supports Letting D.C. Minors get Vaccinated without Consent of Religious Parents

American Atheists — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 22:30:14 +0000

⁠Washington, DC—Today, American Atheists’ Vice President for Legal and Policy Alison Gill submitted testimony supporting B23-171. This DC bill would give minors the choice to be vaccinated without parental consent. “Vaccines are too frequently denied to young people based on the religious beliefs of their parents or guardians,” said Gill. “For example, measles is a vaccine-preventable disease that has plagued multiple religious communities.” Under current DC law, minors themselves cannot choose to get vaccinated. However, they can already seek contraceptive services, mental health care, prenatal care, and abortions without parental consent. B23-171 would amend the law by simply adding vaccination to this list. “Preventing minors from making immunization decisions for their own bodies puts young people at significant risk of contracting debilitating and potentially deadly infectious diseases,” said Gill. “Informed minors should be able to make decisions regarding their own health.” At the same time, the bill strikes a middle ground between respecting minors’ autonomy and putting appropriate limitations on their medical authority. For example, B23-171 extends only to vaccinations recommended by the United States Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The bill also only allows informed minors to independently make these medical decisions. “Lawmakers have a responsibility to protect all youth,” Gill told the D.C. Councilmembers. “We strongly urge you to pass B23-171 to protect young people in the District of Columbia. No young person should suffer due to preventable disease.”

The post American Atheists Supports Letting D.C. Minors get Vaccinated without Consent of Religious Parents appeared first on American Atheists.

Atheists: Maine Should End Religious Exemptions for Vaccines

American Atheists — Fri, 15 Mar 2019 18:25:15 +0000

Augusta, ME—This week, American Atheists, on behalf of its constituents in Maine, submitted testimony in support of LD 798. This bill would repeal religious and philosophical exemptions that prevent children from receiving vaccination. Current Maine law allows a parent to opt their child out of the vaccination requirement if they possess a “sincere religious belief that is contrary to the immunization requirement… or an opposition to the immunization for philosophical reasons.” LD 798 updates Maine’s law pertaining to vaccinations that students must receive before attending public school by repealing loopholes. “Vaccination is a vital public health issue, and we support vaccination requirements based on public health and medical best practices for the benefit of all children,” wrote Alison Gill, Vice President for Legal and Policy. According to the CDC, the opt-out rate for vaccination in Maine is 5.3%, which is more than double the national average of 2.2%. “The current loophole in Maine’s vaccination requirements put children at significant risk for contracting debilitating and potentially deadly infectious diseases,” added Gill. Children exempt from immunization requirements are more than 35 times more likely to contract measles and nearly 6 times more likely to contract whooping cough compared with immunized children. “Tragically, this difference is responsible for a public health epidemic: Maine has one of the highest rates of whooping cough in the country and skyrocketing rates of chickenpox,” said Gill. LD 789 would also correct a loophole that allows staff at nursery schools to not be vaccinated based on their “sincerely held religious or philosophical beliefs.” “Non-essential exemptions to immunization requirements endanger all children in order to accommodate the religious or philosophical beliefs of a few. Such exemptions are unacceptable from both a public health and moral perspective, since successful population immunity to disease depends upon a significant level of vaccination, as high as 95% for some diseases,” added Gill. “These concerns are even more true for nursery schools, where staff are very likely to have contact with children who have not yet received their full course of vaccination,” continued Gill. In the testimony, Gill points to historical examples of outbreaks occurring in communities that do not support vaccination. Measles, for example, is a vaccine-preventable disease that has plagued multiple religious communities known to be either reluctant to vaccinate or completely against vaccination. In Prince v. Massachusetts, the U.S. Supreme Court made clear, “The right to practice religion freely does not include liberty to expose the community or child communicable disease, or the latter to ill health or death…. Parents may be free to become martyrs themselves. But it does not follow they are free, in identical circumstances, to make martyrs of their children before they reached the age of full and legal discretion when they can make that choice for themselves.” “Lawmakers have a responsibility to protect all youth, regardless of their religion or lack thereof,” Gill concluded. “No young person should be subject to harm or illness based on the religious beliefs of their caretakers or their classmates.”

The post Atheists: Maine Should End Religious Exemptions for Vaccines appeared first on American Atheists.

American Atheists Submits Testimony Urging Ohio Lawmakers to Limit Religious Exemptions from Vaccinations

American Atheists — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 21:57:16 +0000

Columbus, OH—American Atheists, on behalf of its more than 1,200 constituents in Ohio, has submitted testimony urging Ohio lawmakers to amend HB 559, a bill related to vaccination requirements for students to attend public schools, to eliminate religious exemptions from mandatory immunizations for children attending Ohio schools. While American Atheists does not take a position on the underlying legislation, we are concerned that the bill maintains and even expands current exceptions to immunization requirements for students whose parents or guardians object to immunization “for reasons of conscience, including religious convictions.” American Atheists believes that no exception should be made from neutral immunization requirements intended to further public health and the well-being of children based on religious beliefs. Such exceptions are both unnecessary and dangerous from a medical and public health perspective. Successful population immunity to disease depends upon a significant level of vaccination since some young people are unable to receive immunization for medical reasons. […] Allowing religious exemptions needlessly puts these youth (as well as the youth who are not receiving vaccination due to the religious exemption) at risk. According to studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, children exempt from immunization requirements are more than 35 times more likely to contract measles and 6 times more likely to contract pertussis, compared to immunized children. Multiple outbreaks of measles have recently occurred in religious communities known to be either hesitant to vaccinate or completely opposed to vaccination. “No young person should be subject to harm or illness based on the religious beliefs of their caretakers or their classmates.” You can read American Atheists’ full testimony here.

The post American Atheists Submits Testimony Urging Ohio Lawmakers to Limit Religious Exemptions from Vaccinations appeared first on American Atheists.