In apparent reaction to the measles epidemic going on in the Pacific Northwest — caused, it seems, by enough kids being opted out of measles vaccines that herd immunity has been compromised — the bold GOP leadership of the state of Arizona is acting courageously and forthrightly on the matter: by expanding opt-out exemptions for vaccines.
Disregarding warnings by public health officials, an Arizona legislative panel on Thursday endorsed three bills that critics say will erode immunization coverage among Arizona schoolchildren. The House Health and Human Services Committee approved all three bills in contentious 5-4 votes that were split along party lines, with Republicans favoring the measures and Democrats voting in opposition.
[…] One of the measures — House Bill 2470 — not only expands vaccine exemption categories in Arizona, it gives parents additional leeway by removing the requirement that they sign a state health department form to get a vaccine exemption. “When a parent only has a government statement that they have to sign in order to qualify for an exemption that they don’t agree with, that is coercion. This allows them to either sign that or make their own statement,” said committee chairwoman Rep. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix, who sponsored all three bills. “We are talking about a policy decision now for parents and we should attribute the best expectations on parents, not the worst.”
[…] Barto maintains the three bills she sponsored are about parental rights and freedom, and not about making any kind of a judgment on whether vaccines are good or bad. “We are here to acknowledge vaccines have a place, but it’s every parent’s individual right to decide the vaccine’s place in the child’s life,” Barto told committee members.
Which would be all fine and good if the choice to vaccinate only affected the kids in question. But that decision affects everyone — every child, baby, adult, especially those with compromised immune systems — that child will come in contact with.
Barto said the bills are about patients and she’s upset that some people who choose not to vaccinate their children, or who question vaccines are being bullied. “We shouldn’t have that type of attitude towards one another,” she said. “It’s not a one size fits all option for every child. … We need to look at the data, look at the science and recognize that there’s research on both sides. That’s my aim here, to strike that balance.”
No, really, there’s not “research on both sides.” Vaccinations work, the risks the carry are minimal, and the lives potentially saved are not just the kids being “protected” by anti-science parents, but the lives of everyone they touch.