Opponents of a bill signed Tuesday by Gov. Jerry Brown eliminating most exemptions from vaccination requirements for students attending California schools called for civil disobedience and legal challenges. Unvaccinated children can attend schools only if they obtain a medical exemption from a doctor. The group has questioned whether the law violates the state Constitution’s guarantee of a public education to all residents.
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“The science remains unequivocal that vaccines are safe and vaccines save lives”, said Democratic Senator Richard Pan, a pediatrician and an author of the bill, according to the Los Angeles Times. And tey have already begun several recall campaigns against legislators who pushed for the bill, including Sen. Pan.
Those detractors include such celebrities as Kirstie Alley, Selma Blair, Jim Carrey, and Jenna Elfman.
The actor, who believes there is a link between vaccinations and autism, took to Twitter to let his 14 million followers know how much he truly hates the bill, calling Governor Jerry Brown a “corporate fascist”. Public or private schools and daycare facilities will not be allowed to admit any other non-vaccinated child.
The clamor around the elimination of the “personal belief exemption” heated up in California after a measles outbreak started last December at Disneyland.
The new law makes California the third state after Mississippi and West Virginia to not allow parents to submit a religious exemption from vaccinations and the 33rd state prohibiting “personal belief” exemptions.
A More than a quarter of schools in California have measles immunization rates that fall below the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation of 92 percent to 94 percent – the level needed to maintain so-called herd immunity.
Despite that, the bill passed through four legislative committees and survived votes in both houses.
If your child requires a permanent exemption due to a medical condition, a written statement from a physician must be presented when they register for school.
On the other hand, people who are against the bill were found protesting. Critics of the legislation also objected to what they saw as restrictions of religious and personal beliefs.
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Despite the fact that this bill was so contentious that security was needed in certain public forums, Governor Brown moved forward and signed the bill. Vaccinations are not required for children who are home-schooled. “Though anti-vaccine proponents say they are doing what they believe is best for their children, pro-vaccine parents argue that choosing not to vaccinate puts the overall health of a community at risk”.
