As we’re a couple of months into the new year, states have been rolling out new legislative bills. In Pennsylvania, it is no different, as we work to track medical freedom-related bills. We continue to uphold PCIC’s mission which includes “to hold our legislators accountable to their sworn duty and to uphold the freedoms declared in Pennsylvania’s constitution.” It’s also important to observe what is happening in other states, in order to spot trends and see what may be coming down the pike.
I personally moved from New York to Pennsylvania in 2020; however, I still receive alerts about bills of concern in New York. Of note are two bills I recently learned about from advocates in New York. The Autism Action Network of NYS calls A6761/S8352 (Karines Reyes, D-Bronz), “The Worst Children’s Health Bill Ever”. This bill would essentially eliminate parental rights by giving the right to consent to medical procedures to children. Under this bill, children of any age could be given drugs, vaccines, dental procedures, surgery, and hospitalizations without parental knowledge or consent. A6761 proposes a change to Public Health Law Section 2504,
“8. Any person, including a minor, who comprehends the need for, the nature of and the reasonably foreseeable risk and benefits involved in any contemplated medical, dental, health and /or hospital services and any alternatives thereto, may give effective consent to such services for themselves, and the consent of no other person shall be necessary. The commissioner is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the provisions of this subdivision.” [emphasis ours]
This bill could involve vaccines, surgeries for transgender youth, and any other medical procedures. At a school-based health clinic or health fair, for example, minors could receive these services and their parents would never know. Do children know enough about their personal and family medical history to consent to such medical decisions, for example, a new mRNA vaccine? My son broke his leg during an away school basketball game in 8th grade. The break was so bad it required surgery on his growth plate. I was at the game and was able to take care of the situation, but what if I was not? What if proper care wasn’t recommended or provided to him? These events can have lifelong consequences. No child should have to make these kinds of decisions without guidance from a trusted guardian. Parental rights absolutely need to remain.
The other bill, unfortunately, takes us back to vaccines and exemptions. Assembly Bill A2125 in NY proposed by Dinowitz and Skoufis (Sponsored Senate companion bill S8113) seeks to end religious exemptions from vaccine mandates in colleges and employers. This would effectively repeal in part the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 gives people with religious beliefs a right to “reasonable accommodation” by employers; this includes vaccinations. A state cannot supersede the religious exemption rights protected by the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. What are these legislators thinking when sponsoring such a bill?! My former conservative Assemblyman in NY once told me that “they get the bills passed and worry about the lawsuits later.” It seems that not much has changed since he shared that with me in 2019.
Assemblyman Dinowitz, who also wrote the legislation that removed the religious exemption from K-12 vaccine mandates in NY, discusses his beliefs as to why the religious exemptions are “utter garbage”, as seen in this interview clip from 2019. Watch the video of Dinowitz making this statement on his Facebook page at minute mark 3:15: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=441644779709395.
Is it possible that there are legislators in Pennsylvania who also believe that religious exemptions to vaccine mandates are “utter garbage”? I would say absolutely yes. This is why as members of PCIC, we have to follow the bills, follow how our legislators vote, and continue to provide information on the importance of informed consent. There is nothing more important than protecting our bodily integrity – without this, we are not truly free.
In this interview with Del Bigtree, Barbara Loe Fisher of the National Vaccine Information Center speaks in-depth about the importance of informed consent, bodily integrity, and protecting our state exemptions to vaccine mandates. She states: “I’d like to really see a concentration on protecting these exemptions”. She goes on to say, “I think that we have a chance in the States to not only add more exemptions like conscience exemption. Even though there have been exemptions that have been taken away, I think there is an educated public now. I think that the states are ready to really take a hard look at some of these mandates because there’s more vaccines coming. I mean, there’s hundreds of vaccines being created.”
To watch the interview in its entirety, click here: https://thehighwire.com/ark-videos/1986-the-untold-story/.
In 2024, as we embark on our work with PCIC, let’s also be aware of what is going on in other states. As we learn about bad bills elsewhere, let us be available to lend our support to advocacy groups such as The Autism Action Network, where I received the alert email. We need to all pull together when it comes to informed consent.