The new law is certain to get some anti-vaxxers off the fence, but it is also sure to face a legal challenge
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ews in New York will no longer have the legal right to refuse vaccinations on religious grounds, after the state legislature voted last week to end that exemption. Community leaders now fear that change may herald a further erosion of religious rights.
“This is the first time that I can remember that we have a bill on the floor solely focused on whether one’s religious beliefs apply or not,” said New York state assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, a Democrat representing Boro Park. “And that’s a dangerous precedent. I happen to believe that there is no religious belief justifying the anti-vaxxers, but here’s the bottom line —once we go down the path of passing such bills, it’s not going to end there.”
The state assembly and senate voted in a matter of hours last Thursday to end the exemption, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo quickly signed the bill. The law goes into immediate effect, meaning that a medical exemption is now the only way parents can keep their unvaccinated child in a state classroom.
A small but vocal group of Jewish anti-vaxxers had almost dared the state to take action.
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