Several individuals have expressed strong disagreement over the new rules implemented in California, which require all children to be vaccinated in order to attend public or private school.
The new law signed on Tuesday pushed through following the measles outbreak that struck Disneyland, causing more than 100 people to fall ill.
According to Melissa Floyd, a spokeswoman for the California Coalition for Health Choice, their group has formed a team of lawyers who will try to find a decree that can fight against the law.
Under the new ruling, vaccination exemptions will be eradicated if the basis is due to the parents' personal preference; however, children may still be allowed to attend school if they can provide medical waivers.
Home schooling may also be possible for children who remain unimmunized. This resulted in an uproar among parents who believe that vaccinations can cause dangerous side effects, including the previously refuted theory of autism.
The law was introduced by Democratic senator Richard Pan, who is also a pediatrician in Sacramento. He pursued this legislation because he believes that the Disneyland outbreak was associated with low inoculation rates. Pan expects the law to withstand any court.
"The California Legislature just created a brand new group of second class citizens, innocent healthy children who will permanently be barred from schools and daycare because they haven't received all doses of the vaccines on the schedule," said Floyd. "This is discriminatory."
Protesters have expressed strong opposition by taking their concerns to the streets on Wednesday. Some parents are even considering moving out of the state due to this new law.
One particular mother named Kadhi Brott said she wants somebody to investigate the reason why children become ill for a long time following vaccination and the rationale for the side effects of the vaccines and explain why there is lack of information for the public to understand.
Although studies refuting the association of autism with vaccination already exist, Brott says her co-parents are still awaiting the results of studies contesting these earlier findings. In the meantime, they are considering removing their kids out of school or moving to another state.
Actor Jim Carrey and his ex-partner Jenny McCarthy are also against the new law. In 2005, McCarthy's son was diagnosed with autism and since then they have been advocates of the refuted theory linking autism with vaccination.
Parents who choose to abide by the law are not required to have all the vaccines injected at once, says Dr. Dean Blumberg from the UC Davis Pediatrics.
"All schools can accept kids provisionally," he said. "So there are provisional acceptance, which means that they have to demonstrate that they are getting started on their vaccines."
The new law, signed by Democratic Governor Jerry Brown, will be implemented starting in the 2016-2017 school year.
Photo: CDC Global | Flickr
