Facing Measles Outbreaks, New York Bans Religious Vaccination Exemptions [Liberty Headlines]

Originally published in Liberty Headlines

We have a movement against vaccines and we have to confront it with correct information…’ said State Senator Shelley B. Mayer. 

Confronted with both serious measles outbreaks and a growing anti-vaccine movement, New York lawmakers voted Thursday to ban religious exemptions that would allow parents to circumvent school-mandated vaccination.

For weeks, public health experts have called on state legislators to outlaw religious exemptions for vaccines, worried by the growing number of “anti-vaxxer” parents, who have been accused of using religious exemptions as a pretext not to vaccinate their children.

“The fact is that we have a movement against vaccines and we have to confront it with correct information,” said Democratic Senator Shelley Mayer. “We have a public health crisis… I believe the time is right, we have to do the hard thing.”