Karman Willmer, left, and Shelby Messenger protest in Sacramento on June 9.
Rich Pedroncelli / AP
Personal and religious exemptions for vaccinations in California may be ending.
On Thursday, California's state Assembly approved a bill that would eliminate current vaccination exemptions for school children based on personal and religious reasons. If it becomes law, parents would have to cite a medical reason.
California's Senate, which approved the bill last month, now must sign off on some amendments before sending to Gov. Jerry Brown desk, which could happen as early as next week, the Associated Press reported.
Opponents of a measure requiring nearly all California school children to be vaccinated gathered in Sacramento on June 25.
Rich Pedroncelli / AP
Brown hasn't said if he plans to sign the bill, but a spokesman told the AP that the governor believes vaccinations "are profoundly important and a major public health benefit, and any bill that reaches his desk will be closely considered."
If the bill does become law, California will have one of the strictest vaccination regulations for school kids in the U.S. months after recent outbreaks of diseases vaccines are designed to prevent, including a high-profile case involving measles spread across the U.S.
Despite bipartisan support in the state Legislature, the bill has been hotly contested among parents. Those who wanted the option of not vaccinating their children lobbied lawmakers to kill the proposed legislation and staged multiple rallies — including one Thursday.
According to the AP, Renate Krogdahl, a mother of three, told demonstrators that parents like her "are being bullied into having their children vaccinated, or not sending their kids to school."
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1CxmadT
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