A bill has passed the Senate and House of the California legislature to make California the 32nd state to deny exemptions grounded in personal or moral beliefs.
It would be the third to bar exceptions based on religious convictions
Exemptions other than for medical reasons would be denied, but only for children in public child care and school.
Some reasons for this is that immunization rates are low enough that epidemics can spread
The measure has passed the state Senate but must return there for the expected approval of minor amendments
More than 13,500 California kindergarten students currently have waivers based on their parents' beliefs.
I respect the fundamental right to make the decision as a parent and as a family. But how do we - as in WE ALL - balance that with the fact that protection from crippling and potentially lethal diseases of each child in a group of children, is a function also of the vaccination of all children in that group?
Such matters should not be a matter of compulsion but one for the heart and mind of each of us. Still, in a culture such as the one most pervasive and salient in the US national public discourse is is understandable.
Instead, because it is now a legal matter, it becomes something that has nothing to do with care, community, and acting like responsible members of groups.
In its legal form it is reduced to the harshness of the question about whether individuals have the right to endanger others.
I ultimately believe that this goes to the very heart of what we believe it means to be a Society.
Are we a society, or do we live in one? Is society an instrument for individuals or a community of resources shared in exchange for responsibility?
As the saying goes: "it takes a village to raise a child"
While it is all the rage to discuss how the violent acts of individuals can be explained by referring to symbols and systems of beliefs of groups; I call for a consideration of how parents are supposed to act in consideration of their society as a whole, when that society isn't there to be that village supporting the raising of a child?
Heck, they cannot even get a workplace that is compatible with being a parent?