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 The bill, which would make California the third state to eliminate
religious and other personal vaccine exemptions, passed the state
Assembly in a form that would give some parents years to comply,
compared with a stronger version of the bill that was earlier
approved by the state Senate.
The measure sparked angry opposition from parents who fear side
effects from vaccinations as well as from some religious
conservatives.
"We got a snapshot with what happened at Disneyland how bad it could
be," said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, a San Diego Democrat who
sponsored the chamber's version of the bill.
In recent years, vaccination rates at many California schools have
plummeted as parents, some of whom fear a now debunked link between
vaccines and autism, have declined to inoculate their children.
Most children are vaccinated, but at some schools, many in affluent
and liberal enclaves, vaccination rates are well below the 92
percent level needed to maintain group immunity that can protect
those who are not vaccinated or have weak immune systems.
The bill was amended in the Assembly to give children with existing
exemptions more time before they must be vaccinated against such
diseases as measles, polio and pertussis.
Personal beliefs exemptions filed before Jan. 1, 2016, would remain
in effect until children complete their "grade spans," defined as
the years from birth to preschool, kindergarten to sixth grade, and
seventh through 12th grades.
Children with medical exemptions would not be affected.
In testimony on the bill, opponents said they feared their children
would be harmed and that the bill would deny them their right to
public education.
Supporters, including the parents of a 7-year-old leukemia survivor,
said the high number of unvaccinated children in many schools puts
students with weak immune systems, who cannot be vaccinated for
medical reasons, at serious risk.
VOCIFEROUS OPPOSITION
The legislature had to increase security for one of the bill's main
authors, Democratic Senator Richard Pan of Sacramento, after he
received death threats from vaccine opponents.
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Pan, a pediatrician, outraged vaccine opponents three years ago when
he carried a successful bill to require parents to consult with a
medical professional before they could receive a personal beliefs
exemption. But he said this time opposition was even more
vociferous, surprising many in the legislature and making the bill's
success uncertain for a time.
"People in the opposition say they want children to get these
diseases naturally," Pan said. "But children die of these diseases.
They become paralyzed. They develop brain damage. This is not
something I would wish on anybody's child."
Southern California Republican Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez voted
against the bill, saying she vaccinated her own children but
believes parents should be able to choose.
"Today's vote was not about whether or not you support vaccines,"
Melendez said. "It was about the freedom to make our own choices as
citizens."
Under the bill, which now goes back to the Senate for approval of
amendments, unvaccinated children without a medical exemption would
have to study at home or in organized, private home-schooling
groups.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; Writing by Cynthia Johnston and
Sharon Bernstein; Editing by Lisa Lambert and Mohammad Zargham)
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