Members of the House of Delegates voted 42-56 to kill a controversial vaccination exemptions bill.
This has been one of the hot-button issues of the legislative session. Discussion on the House floor went on for about two hours today, with 26 delegates rising to speak.
An amendment to assure religious exemptions would be included in the bill was adopted by a fairly narrow margin on Friday. And several delegates alluded to conversations and thought that continued over the weekend.
Delegate Tristan Leavitt, R-Kanawha, said he gave the issue a great deal of thought over the weekend. In particular, he considered the importance of “herd immunity” and the perils of potential outbreaks of communicable disease.
And Leavitt said it’s not clear how many parents would opt to have their children vaccinated if left to their own devices. He noted a relatively low vaccination rate among children not yet old enough to go to school.
“Not all religious exemptions are created equal,” Leavitt said.
Delegate David Green, R-McDowell, urged fellow delegates to set aside misgivings and vote for the bill.
“Remember, this isn’t vaccine freedom. This is religious freedom,” Green said.
He continued by making reference to pressure that delegates might have felt prior to today’s vote.
“I’ll gladly stand with each of you against those that engage in lowdown and shady tactics. But I urge, please overlook the frustration. Don’t stoop to that level, but do the right thing for every citizen in West Virginia, stand up for religious liberty, uphold your oath to defend our Constitution,” Green said.
SB 460 was introduced on behalf of Gov. Patrick Morrisey, who called for legislation allowing West Virginia families to declare religious and philosophical exemptions to the state’s school vaccination requirements.
The Senate overwhelmingly passed a version of the bill on Feb. 12, making some changes from the original.
The House of Delegates then spent some time assessing what could pass that chamber. The version that the House put up for a vote included a more streamlined process for medical exemptions as well as a process for families to claim religious exemptions. That version did not specifically include philosophical exemptions.
Delegates engaged in a vigorous debate on the House floor.
Delegate Keith Marple, R-Harrison, described the iron lunges of years past and said polio will “settle in your lungs and cause the muscles to collapse and you’re not able to breathe.”
“I’m a no on this bill. I think we should keep the way it is, keep us number one there protecting our school children,” Marple said.
Delegate Hollis Lewis, D-Kanawha, noted that measles was determined to be eradicated in the year 2000. Yet measles cases have been popping up across the country in recent weeks.
“For 25 years, we haven’t had to worry about that. So the question is, why are we taking this risk? Why are we bringing this back? Is what we’re doing worth the risk? And I would say it’s not,” Lewis said.
Delegate Rick Hillenbrand, R-Hampshire, says he received a significant amount of communication about this issue over the weekend — but it’s hard to tell what is a mass mailing vs what is heartfelt from constituents. In the end, Hillenbrand concluded that most of his constituents would want him to vote in favor of the bill.
“I’ve been vaccinated. I believe in the science. I had my children vaccinated, I believe they’ve had all theirs vaccinated as well,” Hillenbrand said.
“I don’t encourage people to walk down the middle Kanawha Boulevard at night with their eyes closed, but if you’re an adult and you are willing to accept the responsibilities for your choices, you should be allowed that freedom.”
Delegate Kathie Hess Crouse, R-Putnam, said the bill is about “restoring the critical balance between health policy and individual liberty.
“Parents deserve the right to make medical decisions for their children without coercion,” she said. “These are their children, not the state’s, and with that comes a moral and constitutional responsibility to safeguard their well being.”
Almost all states except California, Mississippi, and West Virginia allow religious or philosophical exemptions for school vaccines, granting parents the ability to opt their children out of vaccinations based on sincerely held beliefs.
Right now, West Virginia students entering school for the first time must show proof of immunization against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, and hepatitis B unless properly medically exempted.
The most recent three West Virginia state health officers — Matthew Christiansen, Ayne Amjad and Cathy Slemp — joined together with a letter to legislators to say the state’s strong school-entry immunization laws are a key reason its rates are among the best in the nation by the time children enter school.
The health officers wrote that by providing for broader exemptions, SB 460 would put communities at risk.
“It trades proven public health protections for an illusion of freedom. True freedom is the ability to live, learn, work, and worship safely and to be healthy – without living in the shadow of outbreaks,” the doctors wrote.
They concluded, “We respectfully urge you to not pass SB 460 (or related laws) in any form that would add non- medical exemptions or otherwise weaken the hard-earned protections keeping our children, families, and communities safe.”