Maine Senate rejects ending religious exemptions for vaccinations
Source: Reuters
Politics
May 2, 2019 / 4:57 PM / Updated 5 minutes ago
(Reuters) - An effort to end all non-medical exemptions for childhood vaccinations in Maine was in limbo on Thursday after the state Senate voted to amend it to allow parents to keep opting out on religious grounds.
The bill had passed the Democratic-controlled state House of Representatives last month, making Maine one of at least seven states considering ending non-medical exemptions amid the worst outbreak of measles in the United States in 25 years.
In a close vote, 18 lawmakers in the Democratic-led state Senate supported an amendment to the House bill to retain the religious exemption that exists in state law, while 17 voted against. The senators approved ending exemptions for children whose parents oppose vaccination for “philosophical reasons.”
Several senators who had trained and worked as doctors argued at length ahead of the vote to allow an exemption only if a healthcare provider deemed it medically necessary. Others noted no major U.S. religion opposes vaccinations.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-measles-maine/maine-senate-rejects-ending-religious-exemptions-for-vaccinations-idUSKCN1S826E?il=0
-snip- and from a libertarian that thinks its just fine to be a walking, talking contagion that will caused people to die if your not vaccinated.............and you can infect other people..................and this drives up health care costs in the long term........................what an ass and his cronies........and only thinking about himself and government over reach..............
Quote:
Senate Republicans, including Scott Cyrway, opposed the bill as government overreach into the private sphere.
“We’re forcing someone to do something when we don’t really have to,” Cyrway said.
= new reply since forum marked as read
