New Jersey’s Religious Exemption – IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED!

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The SENATE AMENDED S1759 on Thursday, October 4th.

In response to your calls, the bill no longer requires annual vaccination counseling or a doctor’s signature. However, the revised bill still has major problems.

The NJ SENATE May vote on S1759 on Thursday, October 25th.

Mark your calendars. This is the next possible date that S1759 could be posted for a full Senate vote. We need YOU and a lot of additional people in Trenton when this bill is posted for a vote. There is power in numbers!

What to do NOW:

  1. Go to Trenton. Several of us are heading to Trenton on Thursday, October 11th to meet with Senators and hand out information. If you are able to join us, please contact us at info@njvaccinationchoice.org. The legislators need to feel our presence and understand how important this is. We had a successful day last Thurs. 10/4.

  2. Contact your Senator again. Remind him/her that you are a constituent and following the bill closely. Urge a NO VOTE on S1759. Find your Senator here http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp. We need to keep contacting Senators to help them better understand this bill. Consider gathering family and friends and stopping by your Senate district office.

  3. Call Governor Christie. Tell him you are deeply concerned and express your opposition to S1759. Remind him of his commitment to support parental rights and urge him to veto S1759 should it reach his desk (609-292-6000)

  4. Sign our NEW Petition: We have set up a new petition at http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/preserve-the-nj-religious-exemption-to-vaccination.html. (This is a paid site, and your email address will not go to any other groups.)

Talking points:

  • S1759 is an attack on religious rights and religious freedoms in NJ. Parents are still required to explain in detail their religious beliefs and obtain a notarized statement.

  • S1759 is financially discriminatory. It costs money to take time off work and pay for notary and possibly legal services. Many parents who qualify for a religious exemption will be unable to afford one.

  • Who will decide what constitutes a bona fide religious belief? It is inappropriate for state and school officials to pass judgment on a person’s private and confidential religious beliefs.

  • Forcing more people to take vaccines will not make the pertussis vaccine more effective, nor will it stop the disease from mutating. Recent outbreaks of whooping cough have been among vaccinated populations. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has stated the pertussis vaccine is ineffective and not providing the protection it has promised. (see note below)*

  • The current religious exemption is working. Several years ago, there was no uniformity and parents were being harassed, intimidated, and discriminated against for exercising their religious rights. The New Jersey Department of Health was burdened with questions from schools. To quote from a 2008 Heath Department memo, explaining the change: “NJDHSS hopes that the information provided will enable schools, child care facilities and local health departments to process requests for exemptions in a more uniform and expeditious manner.”

  • NJ will require a cumbersome and discriminatory process in order for parents to claim a religious exemption.

  • This is expensive to taxpayers – Paying for oversight, compliance and the inevitable legal challenges.

Actual bill can be found here. http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2012/Bills/S2000/1759_R1.PDF

*http://tacanowblog.com/2012/07/30/what-is-causing-the-pertussis-epidemic-unvaccinated-kids-or-an-ineffective-vaccine/

The media and some vaccine advocates are incorrectly blaming parents who choose not to vaccinate their children. But interestingly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other health officials, are NOT. Allow me to quote Dr. Anne Schuchat, the director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases:

“Better diagnosis and reporting of whooping cough may be contributing to the increased numbers, along with the fact that the disease tends to peak and wane in cycles. It does not appear that anti-vaccination sentiment among parents has contributed to either the national rise in cases or the Washington state epidemic.” (3)