Take Action to Oppose SB 276 in California
Senate Bill 276 in California is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health Committee this Wednesday, April 24, at 1:30 pm in Room 4203 of the State Capitol. A rally in opposition to the bill has been scheduled to follow the hearing.
Background
Senate Bill 276 in California is designed to greatly reduce the number of families who can take a medical exemption to vaccine mandates. Since Senator Pan’s SB 277 passed in 2014, medical exemptions are the only form of exemption left to California parents who want to place their children in schools but are concerned by the warnings and possible side effects that accompany all vaccines.
In its original version, SB 276 would remove from medical providers the authority to issue a medical exemption; only the State Department of Health could issue an exemption.
In its currently amended form, the bill allows medical providers to submit a state-approved form as a means to file for a medical exemption, but it still falls exclusively to the Department of Health to approve or deny every application.
ParentalRights.org strongly opposes SB 276, and has laid out reasons for our opposition in a letter addressed to the California legislature and available online here.
As we point out in the letter, declaring the exemption to be the exclusive purview of the Health Department sends a vote of “no confidence” against every medical professional duly licensed by the State.
The licensing board has deemed these professionals capable of practicing medicine, including diagnosing illness, prescribing forms of treatment, and even performing necessary surgery. But now the state says these same doctors cannot be trusted to know, in concert with concerned parents, what is the best medical care for their individual patients.
It is also worth noting that these patients have likely seen their doctors countless times, and their pediatricians know their health history. The decision-makers at the Health Department will not know one child from another.
Ultimately, ParentalRights.org opposes SB 276 as a violation against the right of parents to make informed medical decisions for their own children. The idea that not even doctors, but only the State itself can make these decisions for your child is troubling in the extreme.
Action Items
- If you are able, plan to attend the hearing and the rally to follow. The hearing is in Room 4203 of the Capitol and the rally will be on the Capitol’s west steps. Those with a Facebook account can find more information at https://www.facebook.com/events/316742062289731/.
Remember that many who receive this email will not be able to attend, so if you can, please do so to represent all of those who cannot.
- Contact your state senator, especially if they are on the Heath Committee, and urge them to vote against this dangerous legislation. Find their contact information here.
Conclusion
The scheduled rally is not an event of ParentalRights.org, but we are grateful to stand with those who are organizing this opposition to a bill that threatens your children by removing your parental right to protect them.
Thank you for standing with us this Wednesday!
Sincerely,
Michael Ramey
Executive Director