Several state legislatures are debating vaccine-related measures as dozens of people have fallen ill from a measles outbreak that started at Disneyland in December and spread beyond the theme park. Here is a look at some of the legislation around the country:
CALIFORNIA
Three California lawmakers, all Democrats, introduced legislation this week that would require parents to vaccinate their children before they enter school unless the child cannot be immunized because of a medical condition.
Parents would no longer be able to cite personal beliefs or religious reasons to send unvaccinated children to private and public schools. Mississippi and West Virginia are the only other states with such strict vaccine rules, although the California bill’s lead author said he would consider including a religious exemption.
California is among 20 states that allow for personal belief exemptions and 48 that allow for religious exemptions, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
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MAINE
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The CDC reported that Oregon had the nation’s highest rate of nonmedical vaccine exemptions during the 2012-13 school year.
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WEST VIRGINIA
A state Senate committee this week stripped language from a bill that would have allowed parents to claim religious exemptions from childhood vaccinations.
The bill by Republican Sen. Ryan Ferns would have changed that. Parents would have been able to sign affidavits saying certain vaccinations for their children were against their religious beliefs. That language was removed this week.
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Associated Press writers Brian Bakst in St. Paul, Minnesota; Lisa Baumann in Helena, Montana; Alanna Durkin in Augusta, Maine; Jonathan Cooper in Salem, Oregon; David Eggert in Lansing, Michigan; David Klepper in Albany, New York; Jonathan Mattise in Charleston, West Virginia; Fenit Nirappil in Sacramento, California; James Nord in Pierre, South Dakota; and Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report.
