Parental Rights under Attack
Posted December 17, 2007

On Monday, the New Jersey Public Health Council voted to require four additional vaccines for children who attend the state’s public schools.  Under the new mandate, which is expected to be signed by State Health Commissioner Fred M. Jacobs on December 18, all preschoolers will be required to receive pneumonia and flu vaccinations while middle schoolers will have to receive a meningitis vaccination and a booster shot for tetanus and whooping cough. 

According to the Bergen Record, once the rule takes place, “[t]o enroll their children in licensed preschool or day care, parents must show proof of vaccination.  Sixth-graders who lack their shots will be denied entrance to public school.” Regarding the flu vaccine, the Star Ledger specifies, “The rules require yearly flu shots for children ages 6 months to 59 months (4 years and 11 months)….” No other state has this requirement, and New Jersey would be the first in the nation to mandate flu vaccines for preschoolers.

The New York Times reports that while the new rule would take effect on September 1, according to Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, the state deputy commissioner of health and state immunologist, the deadline for flu vaccine compliance would be December 2008 due to the dates the vaccine will be shipped.  Dr. Bresnitz stated, “Simply put, implementation of these rules will save lives and prevent disease and suffering in children, their families and the community.” 

But not everyone is enthusiastic about the new regulations, particularly the regulation forcing the vaccination of preschoolers against the flu. Many parents are concerned about the lack of studies into the long-term safety of the vaccine. Gail Collins, co-founder of the New Jersey Alliance for Informed Choice in Vaccination, opposes the regulations, stating, “We all know … that vaccines could carry serious side effects and consequences.  We deserve a choice, and not a mandate.  It is our right to decide what toxic substances we wish to inject into our child.” 

The side effect most prevalent in the minds of concerned parents is autism, which some parents believe is linked to the vaccine.  As Newsvine.com reports, “Several parents noted that unlike other common vaccines, most of the influenza vaccine available contains mercury, a toxic heavy metal that has been widely blamed by parents as a cause of autism….” The sentence goes on, however, to indicate this belief is held “despite the lack of any such evidence.” According to the Record, New Jersey has the highest rate of autism in the nation, with one in 94 children having the disorder.

Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk (R-Bergen) sided with the parents, testifying, “Children of this state are assaulted with shot after shot before they go to school…. Don’t force it on those who have these objections.  This is America. What’s happened to our freedom?”  Assemblywoman Vandervalk also noted that children are “really being treated as guinea pigs, and not all children can handle all vaccines.” 

There is a footnote, however, and the New York Times notes that “[s]tate law allows exemptions from the mandated vaccines for religious or medical reasons.  Children who are home-schooled are also exempt from the regulations.” 

Nevertheless, despite this exception, we have major concerns with the new regulations, both from the standpoint of parental rights and from the standpoint of legislative procedure.  Not only do the new regulations infringe upon parents’ rights to direct the healthcare of their children, but they also do so while completely circumventing the legislative process. 

As the Bergen Record indicates, the state’s Public Health Council is an eight-member board that “acts as an independent advisor to the Department of Health and Senior Services.”  The governor appoints each member of the council.  While the state health commissioner is not required to abide by the recommendations of the council, in the case of the proposed vaccine mandates, Commissioner Jacobs has, as the Record notes, “supported such vaccinations in the past.” 

In essence then, a body of advisors not elected by the people but appointed by the governor recommends regulations to a health commissioner who is also not elected by the people but appointed by the governor.  Then, without going through any legislative processes, these regulations become official state mandates – all without the involvement of the state’s constitutional lawmaking branch: the state legislature.

We believe this constitutes not only a dangerous infringement upon the rights of parents but also a blatant violation of the rule of law.  We agree with Ms. Collins statement that
New Jerseyans “deserve a choice, and not a mandate.” 

   

 

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