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Wednesday, March 18, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Bills banning most vaccine exemptions fail in Northwest
By Sheila V Kumar/rachel La corte
Associated Press
SALEM (AP) —
Legislative efforts to increase
pressure on parents to get
their kids vaccinated failed
in Oregon and Washington
state Wednesday amid stiff
opposition as a handful
of other statehouses con-
sider similar bills prompted
by a measles outbreak at
Disneyland.
O r e g o n ’s m e a s u r e ,
which had the support of
D em o crat i c Go v. K at e
Brown, would have made the
state the third in the country
allowing exemptions from
immunizations only for med-
ical reasons, and no longer
for religious, philosophical or
personal reasons. Mississippi
and West Virginia are
the only other states that
have comparable laws in
place.
In Washington state, a
similar effort to remove
personal or philosophi-
cal opposition to vaccines
as an authorized exemp-
tion from childhood school
immunizations died in the
state House after failing to
come up for a vote before a
key deadline. Religious and
medical exemptions would
have remained under that
bill.
Washington state Rep.
June Robinson, who had
sponsored the bill, said
she didn’t have the votes
she needed. The Democrat
from Everett said the push-
back from parents and oth-
ers opposed to the change
had an effect on some
lawmakers.
“There was a very loud
outcry, much of which was
filled with false informa-
tion,” she said.
The Oregon bill’s spon-
s o r, D e m o c r a t i c S e n .
Elizabeth Steiner Hayward,
of Portland, said opposition
largely revolved around who
was right or wrong about the
benefits of vaccines, and she
has decided not to pursue the
legislation.
“She strongly believes
that making personal choices
such as whether or not to
vaccinate children are largely
a matter of privacy, but —
as with all matters of per-
sonal choice — we have to
be certain that our choices
don’t impinge on our neigh-
bors’ health and well-being,”
said Paige Spence, Steiner
Hayward’s chief of staff.
Several other states have
been considering similar
bills eliminating personal and
philosophical exemptions
to vaccinations as dozens of
people across the country fell
ill from a measles outbreak
that started at Disneyland in
December. According to the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, 142 people
from seven states, includ-
ing one from Oregon and
two from Washington, were
linked to the outbreak.
I n F e b r u a r y, t h r e e
California lawmakers intro-
duced legislation that would
require parents to vaccinate
their children before they
enter school unless they
can’t for medical reasons.
That bill has yet to come up
before a committee, though
Democratic Gov. Jerry
Brown has suggested he’ll
support it.
In Vermont, which is in
the top three states for people
taking an exemption, a group
of lawmakers announced
plans last month to introduce
legislation eliminating the
philosophical exemptions
for parents who don’t want
their kids immunized, though
a similar effort failed three
years ago. In Maine, two
bills, one removing philo-
sophical exemptions and one
that aims to make it harder
for parents to get that exemp-
tion, are awaiting a public
hearing.
Last year, Oregon passed
a law requiring parents with
kindergartners to consult
with a health professional
or watch a one-hour educa-
tional video before shots are
waived. Steiner Hayward,
who also sponsored that
bill, said she’d heard par-
ents were only going through
the motions of watching the
video when they attended
consultations, which is why
she sought to strengthen
the state’s immunizations
requirements.
This year ’s measure
drew heated testimony from
parents who argued it took
away their medical freedom
and right to informed con-
sent. The bill was pulled
before it got a commit-
tee vote, though it did get
a public hearing. Dozens
of parents who showed up
at a hearing in Washington
also said the measure would
take away their rights to
make decisions for their
children.
“The fundamental issue
was that of informed consent.
We’re supportive of safe and
effective vaccinations. We’re
not anti-vaccine. We’re pro-
informed-consent,” said Vern
Saboe, a chiropractor from
Albany who testified against
the Oregon bill.
the fundamental issue
was that of informed
consent. We’re supportive
of safe and effective
vaccinations. We’re
not anti-vaccine. We’re
pro-informed-consent.
— Vern Saboe
La Corte reported from
O l y m p i a , Wa s h i n g t o n .
Associated Press writers
Alanna Durkin in Augusta,
Maine, and Fenit Nirappil in
Sacramento, California, con-
tributed to this report.
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