NY bill would let teens who disagree with parents' 'dangerous anti-immunization pseudoscience' to get vaccinated
Two Democratic lawmakers in New York state have proposed a bill that would allow minors who are 14 years and older to get vaccinated without the need for parental approval.
“We are on the verge of a public health crisis,” New York State Assembly member Patricia Fahy, one of the sponsors of the bill, told The New York Times. “We’ve become complacent over the last couple of decades. It’s not just the individual who is at risk when they are not immunized. You are putting other people at risk.”
Some states, such as Oregon and South Carolina, already allow minors to receive vaccinations without permission from their parents. However, sometimes these laws include a provision that requires the minor to undergo an evaluation aimed at ensuring that they are mature enough to make the decision. The New York bill—which was also sponsored by New York state Senator Elizabeth Krueger—will not include such a provision if passed into law.
Ethan Lindenberger rose to prominence after sharing his story of growing up in an “anti-vax household” on Reddit. “My mom did not believe that vaccines were beneficial to the health and safety of society and believes that they cause autism, brain damage and other complications,” he wrote in the post.
The idea originated in 1998 when discredited former doctor Andrew Wakefield published a paper in The Lancet linking autism and the MMR vaccine. The study has since been withdrawn from the journal and its conclusions thoroughly debunked. While coverage of most recommended vaccines has remained relatively stable and high in the U.S. in recent times, the percentage of American children aged under two who have received no vaccinations has quadrupled from 0.3 percent in 2001 to 1.3 percent in 2015, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Coverage tends to be lower in more rural areas and among those with significant numbers of uninsured or Medicaid-insured individuals.
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