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February 05, 2003

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Immunization Exemption Bill Riles Senators"

Associated Press (www.ap.org) (02/04/03)

For the third straight year, Senator Andy McKenzie (R-Ohio) has introduced a bill that would allow parents the right to exempt their children from immunization based on religious beliefs.  Citizen John Grindley is behind McKenzie's push; Grindley says he is a born-again Christian and believes that immunizing his children against measles, chickenpox, whooping cough, and other diseases is against God's wishes.  West Virginia and Mississippi are the only states that have no existing provision for religious exemptions.  The American Civil Liberties Union is supporting Grindley's cause, claiming that an increased disease incidence has not been proven among the 48 states where at least 1 percent of all children are not immunized by parental choice.

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