During the debate on a bill that would specify requirements for parents to obtain a religious vaccine exemption for their K-12 child, State Sen. Rodger Smitherman (D-Birmingham) advocated excluding unvaccinated children from attending schools in person.
Senate Bill 85 (SB85) by State Rep. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) would clarify current laws by stating that a written statement from a parent to a local school board is sufficient to obtain a religious vaccine exemption without having to give further explanation. Currently, exemptions must be applied for at the local health department. The provision also applies to parents or students attending a university.
Orr presented the bill before the Senate Education Policy Committee on Thursday for a public hearing and a vote.
In advocating for the bill, Orr referenced a recent case where the Mobile County Health Department (MCHD) was forced to stop charging a $30 fee for a religious exemption.
"Right now, under current law, for a religious exemption in the K-12 world, you have to go to the public health department in your county [and] get a special piece of paper or notice," Orr said. "It's not discretionary. So, it's mandatory; they have to give it to you. The experience has been, many times in these offices, the mom or dad or whomever's taking the child, they get asked about their religious beliefs: 'Why do you believe this? Why don't you take vaccines? Why don't you want this for your child? Do you not know what's safe?' You have to watch a video [in] a lot of places."
After the public hearing portion, which featured one person in total who spoke against the bill, Smitherman began a monologue, eventually saying unvaccinated children should be relegated to remote learning.
"We got a public safety concern," Smitherman said. "And there ain't no way, to make a few folks happy who don't want to do this, we should jeopardize every one of these students, whether they be in charter, private or wherever it is, or public, to being subject to being infected. Because that's what we [are] really saying is that 'okay, they shouldn't have to take the vaccine, but let them go to school and breathe and infect around everybody else.'"
He continued, "So if you don't want your child to have the vaccine, then they need to be at home with Zoom. That's all that I'm saying."
In response, Orr reiterated that religious exemptions are still allowed under the current law, and the bill only removes a bureaucratic hurdle.
Smitherman's objections were apparently not so deep-felt as to cause him to vote no on the bill, which sailed through committee unanimously after he and fellow Democratic State Sen. Kirk Hatcher (D-Montgomery) abstained from voting.
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