Texas
House
Bill
2292
has 86-pages
of
policies
on
health
and
human
services
in
Texas. But
buried
somewhere
within
these
pages is
one
little-known
paragraph. A
paragraph
about
"exemption
by
conscience",
a law
that
says you
don't
have to
get your
kids
vaccinated.
Here's a
basic
outline:
-
A written
request
has
to
be
sent
to
the
Texas
Department
of
Health
to
recieve
the
exemption
affadavit,
a
form
that
hasn't
even
been
developed
yet.
-
The
child's
parent
or
guardian
then
has
to
fill
it
out
and
have
it
notarized
before
the
exemption
is
accepted.
The
new law
is
designed
to
protect
parents
who
decide
against
vaccinations. But
one
local
daycare
owner
asks,
who's
going to
protect
the
children?
At
Tenderhearts
Daycare,
kids
watch
TV, play
ball and
just
enjoy
life,
safely.
"In
the
world we
live in,
where we
worry
about
terrorism,
this is
just one
thing I
don't
want to
have to
worry
about,"
says
owner
Tracy
Noble.
Noble
says
giving
parents
the
option
to
decline
vaccinations
could
cost her
business.
"I'm
fearful I
would
lose
daycare
kids,"
she
says.
"There
would be
parents
that
would
object
to that,
having
children
that
didn't
have
immunizations."
Noble
has
heard
the
controversy,
people
claiming
vaccines
cause
convulsions,
paralysis,
and even
autism. Yet
she says
it's
worth
the
risk.
"I
understand
being
fearful
of your
child
becoming
retarded
but
I've
done
daycare
for over
20
years,
and I've
never
had a
child
that was
hurt
from
getting
his
shots,"
she
says.
Beckie
brawley
is
Public
Health
Coordinator
at the
Lubbock
Health
Department. She
says
parents
shouldn't
be
fooled
into
thinking
vaccines
aren't
needed. "Measles,
mumps,
rubella,
polio,
parents
don't
see them
anymore.
But
that's
because
we have
vaccines
to
prevent
them,"
she
points
out.
But
Brawley
says the
recent
resurgence
in
whooping
cough
proves
the
diseases
aren't
gone
forever.
"If we
have
parents
who
start
not
immunizing
their
children,
we very
well
could
start
seeing
these
preventative
diseases
again,"
she
says.
Noble
says if
that
happens,
daycares
won't be
the only
ones in
trouble.
"As far
as
schools
are
concerned, I
bet
there
are
people
who will
home
school
because
this
will be
a big
fear,"
she
says.
Even
before
this
law,
parents
could
decline
vaccinations
for
religious
reasons,
or a
known
medical
condition. But
Brawley
says the
Lubbock
Health
Department
gave out
13,000
vaccinations
last
year and
only saw
about three
or four
forms of
exemption
in area
schools.