Forced Immunization in California - Post SB277 Update
Written by Craig Rogers, Posted on
California Parents are Forced to Immunize their Children
What do you think about forced immunization? Should all children be vaccinated, by force? Is forced immunization destructive to parental rights? Should the government be in a position to force all children to receive immunizations? This debate will not be settled anytime soon, but in the State of California one thing is settled. All children will be immunized or they will not be able to attend public or private school.
A new State law in California requires children to be vaccinated in order to attend public or private school. However, according to school officials thousands of children are attending school this fall without the required immunizations. As SB 277 that Governor Brown signed into law, last year will take many years to take full effect. Soon, unless a child has a medical exemption, all children must have all of their shots in order to attend school.
Basically, with the passing of SB 277 parents can no longer use religious or personal belief as a way to get out of vaccinations. In the State of California, opponents of parents rights, state, "California forces all children to be immunized, regardless of the parent's wishes, beliefs, or concerns."
Those children who had exemptions prior to the passing of SB 277 have been grandfathered in, however only until they go into the 7th grade. When they enter the 7th grade, even the children with past exemptions must show proof of immunization shot records.
The Purpose of SB 277 is to Stop the Spread of Infectious Disease
The theory behind forced immunization is the fear that a child who is not vaccinated will spread diseases like measles and whooping cough, potentially infect children who cannot be immunized because of weakened immune systems.
Last year in California there was an outbreak of measles. Over 100 people were infected, and the source was hailed as coming from small pockets of non-immunized people throughout California, but specifically showing up in Disneyland. How the source can be identified from such a broad spectrum of people living throughout the huge State of California is beyond reason.
Some school districts throughout California were turning away children this week as school began. School administrators were referring parents to local clinics and medical practices to get the required shots. The new State law makes it crystal clear about the State's position on vaccines. Most parents have bought in, but there are still plenty of parents who are not happy with SB 277 and have opted to homeschool their children instead.
Some Parents in Opposition are Seeking Remedy
Before SB277, around 2 to 3 percent of parents had opted out or sought an exemption. Some of these parents adamantly oppose the vaccine law and refuse to immunize their children.
San Francisco mom Adrienne Moore, who fought the law, spent months trying to get a medical exemption for her kindergartner.
Moore said her daughter became unresponsive for nine days after her first tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis, or Tdap, shot when she was a baby. Before school started last week, she said, her doctor agreed to support a one-year medical exemption.
Moore’s second daughter, who would start kindergarten next year, has no exemption. If it’s a choice between vaccines and homeschooling, the mom said her girls would stay home.
The law is still subject to a court battle, and a federal judge in San Diego is expected to rule this week on whether to delay it while a legal challenge proceeds.
A lawsuit filed by an anti-vaccination group, Education 4 All, charges that the law violates the right to an education under California’s constitution.
Anne Dachel of The Age of Autism speaks out regarding SB 277, bringing up a real issue, "This new law has a lot of parents in a total uproar," and it's turned school administrators into the vaccine police. And since school funding is based on enrollment, districts could lose hundreds of thousands. Forcing parents to homeschool sounds like a violation of a child's right to a free and appropriate education.
The second story is from the San Francisco Chronicle and it's truly frightening. A child who "became unresponsive for nine days after her first Tdap shot when she was a baby" was granted only a one-year medical exemption. Her sister, who's entering kindergarten, couldn't get one.
Read the full article posted by Anne Dachel on the Age of Autism (www.ageofautism.com), or click on "Next Page" below.
