FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Holly Blumhardt, California Mom of 3
Cell Phone: 949.484.4821
E-mail: noshots4me@gmail.com
AB 2109 Threatens Parental Rights, and Californians Aren’t Going To Take It
TUSTIN, CA – April 17, 2012 – The California Assembly of Health will be conducting a hearing on AB 2109 today at 1:30 PM in Sacramento. AB2109 is a controversial bill that has many California parents in uproar over their parental rights. AB2109 will force Californians to get an MD signature to allow parents to sign the CA vaccine exemption form. California parents have been using the philosophical exemption for the past century for reasons against personal beliefs and as a religious exemption, as there is no religious exemption in California. AB2109 will officially have a doctor validate whether or not a parent’s personal belief is worthy enough to get a philosophical exemption, essentially freedom with permission. Many parents feel AB2109 violates their constitutional rights to exercise their philosophical beliefs exemption, makes medical decisions for their children, and it forces them to use an allopathic model of health care for their family, even if it is against how they currently seek medical care for their family.
In addition to the many concerns about violating parental rights, California parents are worried that they will run into issues trying to get the philosophical exemption signed, which in turn will affect their child’s ability to go to school. Pediatricians won’t want to sign off on the exemption form because they won’t meet their quotas for vaccinated children to get their bonuses. They will get reduced reimbursement rates from the insurance companies due to vaccination requirements, and they won’t want to sign the form because of liability concerns. This bill will cause financial strain on some families depending on how many pediatricians they will have to visit to get a signature, and insurance companies most likely will not pay for the office visit to sign off on these forms due to the nature of the visit. If parents can’t get a signature on the form, their child won’t be able to go to school without getting vaccinated.
“Most parents that choose not to vaccinate their child through this exemption, if not a religious decision, are extremely well educated on the manner, are sophisticated and savvy, and are making this decision in the best interest of their child. I have been researching this issue for the past 15 years,” said Holly Blumhardt of Tustin.
Fundamentally, AB2109 violates Californians’ constitutional rights because parents are being forced to get PERMISSION to opt out of a voluntary medical procedure. A doctor’s signature is not necessary to prove that a patient has been educated. If AB2109 is passed, it will set precedence for many other states and could eventually end the philosophical exemption across the board. This bill could also set precedence regarding freedom to make other health care decisions as individuals and parents.
To find out more information, please visit http://www.change.org/petitions/the-ca-state-house-oppose-ab2109.
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If you’d like more information on this topic, or to schedule an interview with Holly Blumhardt, please call 949.484.4821 or e-mail Holly @ noshots4me@gmail.com