In response to the outcry against legislation that would eliminate religious exemptions for vaccinations, Senator Michael Doherty (R-23) made the following statement:

“My District Office phone has been ringing off the hook with parents concerned that their children will be forced to receive needle injections that violate their religious beliefs. This is big, obtrusive government at its worst.

“Both the United States and New Jersey constitutions guarantee the protection of religious freedoms, and this partisan legislation is a blatant violation of the constitutional rights of New Jerseyans. Garden State parents should not have to defend the tenets of their religion to the New Jersey Government. Religious vaccine exemptions are lawful, and I will fight to ensure they remain so.

“It appears that this bill, S-2173, has been purposefully scheduled for a vote just before the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays in order to upset and agitate New Jersey’s religious communities and families.”