Lawmakers support vaccine exemptions

A group of state lawmakers is fighting back against discussions to possibly eliminate a religious exemption to the requirement that Connecticut schoolchildren be vaccinated, arguing it would be unconstitutional.

The 44 senators and representatives, mostly Republicans, have sent a letter to Democratic Attorney General William Tong expressing their belief that ending the exemption would prevent parents from freely exercising their right to religion and violate their rights by essentially preventing their unvaccinated children from being allowed to attend public school.

“We hope you will join us in our firm conviction that Connecticut should never be a state that favors certain religious beliefs to the exclusion of others. Such action is, in fact, the very definition of discrimination,” the lawmakers wrote.

The letter is in response to Democratic House Majority Leader Matt Ritter of Hartford, who recently sought an opinion from Tong on the federal and state constitutionality of eliminating the exemption. Ritter said he believes the exemption is being abused and should be scrapped in light of the uptick in measles and other outbreaks across the U.S.

A spokeswoman for Tong said the letter from the group of lawmakers, which includes members of the General Assembly’s 14-member conservative caucus, will be addressed in his official opinion, likely to be released next month.

Ritter angered a group of parents when he said last month the General Assembly should vote on whether to eliminate Connecticut’s religious exemption within the next 12 months. Ritter has noted that three states — California, Mississippi and West Virginia — currently do not have a religious or philosophical exemption for required school immunizations.