POLL: Should Religious Exemptions For Vaccines Be Eliminated?

On Monday, the New Jersey Senate declined to vote on a bill that would have effectively eliminated the religious exemption that thousands of residents use to avoid having to have vaccines administered to their children. Senate President Stephen Sweeney said that he was short just one vote to get the bill passed and vowed to reintroduce the bill and continue to push for its passage.

Lawmakers introduced the bill after an increase in cases of measles and other illnesses previously thought to have been all but eradicated. Numerous cases of the illnesses were reported in Rockland County in New York and a handful were reported in New Jersey, with the majority of them occurring in Ocean County.

Advocates of the bill say that vaccine-wary parents are abusing their use of religious exemptions and that it should be done away with in regards to mandated vaccinations. They argue that religious exemptions should only be used for actual religion-based opposition to a policy, not as an excuse to avoid having their children vaccinated, which science has shown to be safe.

But critics contend that religious exemptions should not be eliminated because it will lead to a slippery slope. Once religion is infringed upon –  even for something logical and agreed upon by most adherents of the religion – we invite others with malicious intent to do away with other parts of our religious freedoms – a crucial component of liberty in the United States.

So we turn to you. What do you think? Does the importance of having the population vaccinated trump the concerns of those worried about religious freedom being harmed?

 

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48 COMMENTS

  1. This law was not about the measles vaccine. Even vaccines that no Rav mandates and many Rabbonim say not to take (e.g. HPV and Hepatitis B) are going to be mandated and there will be no religious exemption.

    Even if you believe every vaccine is good, this would be a very slippery slope.

    • We have a mesora that we ask a Rav on how to proceed, especially regarding sofek nefashos.

      Although many Rabbonim say to vaccinate, if you ask a shaila & are told not to vaccinate, you should not vaccinate. This is a religious issue.

      Just because your Rav says one thing doesn’t mean everyone needs to go in that direction. Not the way it works.

      There are the likes of Rav Shmuel Kamentzky, as well as others, that direct not to vaccinate.

      A true Yid would not oppose a gadol hador. It is not your place to decide what is a religious exemption.

      • Not sure why you are so confused
        this may be a religious issue
        this is NOT a religious EXEMPTION issue
        do research what religious EXEMPTION means
        ans stop ruining it for the 95% of Hidden that vaccinate

  2. I dont understand worried that if they stop this they’ll stop other religious matters.

    This is NOT a religious matter!!

    What if they want to say that there should be no religious exemption that allows Orthodox Jews to speed?

    • I don’t understand what makes you qualified to pasken this shaila.

      Are you aware of any godal hador that says it is ok speed?

      There are big gadolim, the likes of Rav Shmuel Kamenetzy, that advise not to vaccinate. Are you bigger than him?

      You can ask another Rav what to personally do, but you are not qualified to say this is not a religious matter.

      • Rav Shumel advises people who ask him not to vaccinate. It is not a religious psak. He is against it for philosophical and personal reasons. Not a religious reason. Therefore, asking him what to do is not a Psak Halachah. There is a big difference between giving an Eitza and a Psak.

  3. in NY the law passed and now the government wants to put in a school curriculum for ALL schools, the private schools cant say don’t mix in my religious belief because they helped push the law to eliminate the religious exempt. now aguda and their advocates are trying to pull back

  4. @Moish. In NY they are trying to mandate education laws. In European countries they have laws on shchita.
    Don’t kid yourself that they are worried about health and safety here…I don’t know if you listened to Sweeny talk about vaccines. He’s clueless.

  5. And the 5% whom you say don’t vaccinate do consider it a religious matter, injecting aborted fetal cells and monkey dna into our bodies.
    Maybe you shave your beard but if they mandate that, it will be a religious matter for me.
    Not all yidden interpret halachos the same way, but it’s still a religious matter.

  6. According to Torah we have to do what is healthy for our bodies. According to this when it comes to vaccination the answer might be different for different people. One should consult with their pediatrician on which vaccines and what schedule is right for each individual in one’s family, not treating ACIP recommendations like they are a god.

  7. It is not about whether this is actually a religious matter. Currently, it is perceived by the government as a religious matter. Therefore, if the government acts with the perception that they can attack a religious right (justifying it in the name of public good) they can then go after or offend other religious rights in the name of public good.
    One example: In the name of education the government can force all schools (public and private) to teach specific curriculums even if is profoundly offends or antagonizes your religious beliefs.

  8. why is the agudah and rabonim fighting it obviously it is a religious freedom issue that will go from here to the next thing so why are we making comments (I vaccinate my kids but still don’t want religious freedom taken away) got to look at the broader picture and not think this is about vaccinations just because there are people that are anti vaccers doesn’t mean this isn’t about religious freedom (anti vaccers i’m sure eat 3 meals a day too) leave it to the people that know what their talking about agudah askonim rabonim…. who are not anti vaccers who came out against this because of religious freedom who knows where it will go from here

  9. @true yid and @moish
    As a Torah observant parent I would like to understand the logic of how it’s ok to take a risk (it’s been proven it’s not one size fits all) to prevent a disease. This is not for Refuah but for prevention.
    There are some that have lifelong ramifications and live with them day in and day out. This is a question for a Rav, it is absolutley a halachik question. Therefore it needs a religious exemption.

  10. True yid, if 95% of Jews do something wrong , does that make it right?
    You don’t even know what you’re putting into your child . Another dead persons DNA, pig cells , monkey kidney cells. I don’t need my kids getting someone else’s DNA , or animal cells. It clearly says that eating treif stuffs up the neshama, imagine when you inject them and they go straight into your child’s cells, any wonder why so many kids have no feelings for yidishkeit anymore? Close to 2,000 kids in Lakewood are off the derech , do we need more?? Wake up , you people are sound asleep in Lakewood.

      • Some suggest that current “overly aggressive” vaccination schedule is responsible for unprecedented rise in ADD, ADHD & many other processing disorders in our children. It’s very hard to fit into the current “Frum mold” if a child has one of these disorders.

  11. anti vaxer logic is an oxymoron. if vaccines were so dangerous you would have many more people getting sick. they make a smal minorit look like the majority. typical liberals

  12. To concerned parent: There can be two types of reactions to vaccines..short term and long term. The long term CAN possibly be auto-immune disorders, which have risen substantially along with the rise in the number of vaccines our children are getting. Did your pediatrician ever give you the vaccine manufacturer’s inserts before they gave your child a vaccine? I think by law they are supposed to do. If you read the inserts you will see a list of short term and long term adverse events that you have been reported from the vaccine.

    Of course we cannot say for sure if it is the vaccines that is causing the rise in auto-immune disorders, but we cannot say for sure that it is NOT the vaccines.

    How can it be that all vaccines are safe for all children , when we know that all medicines are not good for all human beings…right? There are a lot of ingredients in vaccines and perhaps some children are allergic to some of the ingredients. Would you tell a child who has a bad reaction to a peanut that it may not be that the peanut caused them a bad reaction, so they should continue to eat the peanut?

    I am aware of a website that contains some startling statements from health officials and others about vaccines. If you contact the administrators of this website with your email address, I am hoping that they will contact me and I can send you the website link.

  13. @ concerned parent
    Seems like you have no idea that 54% of US children are diagnosed with a chronic illness. This number is only rising so if you think we have a healthy population think again

  14. Those that pontificated in this forum against vaccinations have all given medical and philosophical reasons why they hold their view. Not one has given an actual religious reason. However, they have no hesitation in using religion as the excuse for not vaccinating. They have abused the religious loophole, so now it is being taken away. When a loophole is abused, it will be removed. They have only themselves to blame. This would not be an issue if the anti-vaxxers had not used this “convenient” excuse to support their beliefs. It in NOT a religious belief.

    • it was the liberal democrats that were promoting this law to remove religious exemption so i’m not sure you have your party affiliation correct. Most conservatives believe that government should not be mixing in to our everyday lives. typical liberal approach on the other hand is cradle to grave government involvement in your life telling you what to eat (hence the laws limiting soft drink consumption in NYC) what to teach your children (hence the laws governing curriculum in NYC) and what medical procedures you should be doing to your children (hence the law that removed religious exemption in NYS). you may want to revisit your stance on this issue if you consider yourself a conservative.

    • I have a psak from two of the main poskim in Lakewood that i cannot vaccinate my child. yes when my child was out of school i asked if i should be vaccinating so that they can go back to school the psak i was given was that based on the information i provided to the Posek i was not ALLOWED to vaccinate this child. so all of you who say this is not a religious issue for some it is most definitely a religious issue because if i went ahead and vaccinated this child i would be violating halacha. please don’t pontificate on matters upon which you are not well informed.

      • You prove my point! Many ask for an eitza and call it a psak. Most don’t ask, and just use the exemption. It is those people who exploit the exemption that ruin it for everyone. If you truly were given an halachic psak and not an eitza, then the religious exemption should be available to you. However, since it is exploited by most who use it, attempts are made to close the loophole.

        • do you have the scientific data to prove that “many people” are asking for eitzas and calling it a psak and then relying on the religious exemption… your anecdotal observations should not be stated as a fact – aren’t we pro vaxxers science loving people so please don’t give us your opinion and state it as a fact bring. the science to prove out your statement

  15. I don’t understand all the problems. New Jersey is a Democratic run State and the Democrats know what is BEST for everyone, if you don’t believe that then just ask them.

    Either live with the Democrats running your lives or vote them out of office.

    The last choice is move to another state.

  16. Can somebody please explain how the exemption wanted is a religious issue?
    Nobody I know that doesn’t vaccinate is because of halachic reason.
    P.s u vaccinate

  17. The Torah commands that we take care of ourselves. We avoid jumping out of planes, or do risky behavior because of that command There have been damage and death as a result of vaccines. The government has paid billions of dollars to damaged children for a life full of pain and misery. As a parent I have the obligation to protect my children as a Jew I do not want the government taking away my rights to make a decision I do seek counsel from my rabby on decisions that affect my children and their lives. If we allowed the government to dictate what I can decide for my children the first thing they’ll try to take away will be bris milla. I came to this country because is founded in freedom. It is my constitutional right to observe and practice my religious beliefs without government intervention.

  18. Regardless of your personal view of vaccinations or not, this is a grave issue of the government having full control of you and your child’s body. If you think this is where their agenda ends, do your research. The pharmaceutical companies are directly linked to government officials and even mainstream media to push their agenda of vaccinations. If you look at the schedule of vaccinations a child has received in past years versus today, it’s astronomically different— they are coming out with hundreds, yes hundreds of more vaccines full of aluminum, Mercury, aborted fetus cells, and a host of other chemicals that will be required to inject in not just your child’s body, but YoUR body. The government and pharma agenda will be targeting adults as well. They are trying to completely overtake the natural, functioning health of a human body to line their pockets with cash. Do your own research. Whether you vaccinate or not, you are entitled and should read a vaccine label. You should read how a side effect on the label “may cause death”. Somehting that even has the possibility of death should he a CHOICE. That is the bottom line. Wake up Lakewood. Wake up America! we are the sickest country, and the country that has the most vaccinations. Vaccinations are making us sicker, not healthier, and I personally know many people who used to vaccinate but now don’t becUse they or someone they PERSONALLY know have unfortunately been permanently injured by the vaccines. Wake up! They are trying to create vaccines for diseases that don’t even exist in America. More and more doctors are even opening their eyes to the dangers and repercussions. Instead of all the vaccine-toting people blindly saying “well my doctor says it works so it must” do your own research. Thé information is available. Hashem made the hunan body naturally healthy, if we take care of it well. He didn’t design humanity to be required to receive 70 vaccines by the time you’re age 10. THINK. WAKE Up. The truth will only be seen by a minority. The people who see the truth have been enlightened by Hashems wisdom. .

  19. @carmen
    Very well written! I will add 1 thing:
    There are NO safety studies on vaccines using a double blind inert placebo!! NONE!
    So whoever wants to play Russian roulette with their children….
    What incentive do they hv to create safe vaccines knowing they cannot be sued?!??! (1986 act)
    Zman moshiach that’s all!!

  20. I would like to explain something about this bill that almost passed. It also tampered with medical exemptions. If one child in a family was injured or died after a vaccine, but the family did not go to the Government Vaccine Compensation Court and did not get awarded a payment, then all the other siblings of this child would have to get that same vaccine. It is extremely horrific to have to go through this court and it takes years to get a settlement.

    In addition, although the medical exemption exists, the reasons that doctors can give them are extremely limited. Seizures, fainting, screaming unconsolably for hours, going into a hypotonic state, regressing in speech and other areas, etc. are no longer considered acceptable reasons to not get further vaccines (they were considered acceptable about a year ago). These are all possible signs of brain inflammation. I believe the only acceptable reason for a medical exemption allowed is anaphylaxis. If i am wrong, please post on here other information.

    When you analyze all the vaccines out there, there are basically only two that would prevent one child from giving a disease to another child – the chickenpox and the MMR. The other vaccines do not target communicable diseases or they do not prevent spreading of the disease. For example, pertussis – the vaccine may lessen the symptoms that a child would have if they got pertussis, but it would NOT prevent them from having the illness in their body and spreading it to others! As a matter of fact there have been pertussis outbreaks in vaccinated children, and those children who were not vaccinated for this did not get the illness!

    There is a lot of information out there if you are willing to take the time to investigate …and the information is from credible sources. If you email the webmaster here perhaps he will be able to send me your email and I can send you more information on this topic.

  21. PS to my previous posting. That is why some people, but not all, will use a religious exemption to not have to have their children vaccinated – because the medical exemption is so limited. You can say that it IS a religious reason – they do not want to harm their own child because our religion forbids us from harming our bodies.
    And others will use the religious exemption for the same reason – they believe that there are risks to vaccines (and there are, or else the vaccine manufacturer’s insert would not list all of them!) and our religion forbids us from possibly harming our bodies. Measles is not as deadly as they make it sound. Check it out for yourself by doing the research, and chickenpox is certainly not considered a deadly disease. As explained in my previous posting, the other vaccines do not target communicable diseases and/or do not prevent transmission of a disease, so why should parents be forced into it if they feel their child may be harmed?

    • FYI the pri megadim in hilchos taanis (I believe OC 576~11 (I think, I dont have it in front of me now)
      Says that one must fast when there is a measles outbreak.
      In Samoa there have been 83 deaths from the measles since September 30 2019
      Hard to call that not deadly or dangerous….

  22. This is a very tough question. I do think you should talk to your Doctors. Thats your first step. Also, no one should hace to suffer for your decisions.If you choose to keep all your children home and not use the busing and home school them that is your right. Your right your choice your chidren But if you want to deal with the public then you must do what the law says. Why expose infants, sick cancer parient to any of these diseases that were once almost unheard of. Stay out of the stores and public.If your children are ill stay away from the big stores. Shop Rite Costco, Sams Walmart. Start with your DOCTOR. Your decide.If you want Goverment funding follow the law..

  23. Goverment funding then follow the laws… You can do everything yourself keep your children home. Your choice. See your Doctors……

    • to janet:
      people who don’t vaccinate are not spreading disease.

      At the Monsey Pro Vaccine rally Dr. Bar Zev said” Healthy unvaccinated people cannot spread disease”..

      What you are writing ,” Stay out of stores and public, etc.” that is if a person is SICK! Do you know how many parents end their kids to playgroup and school, etc. even though the kid is not feeling well? These are the people you should be upset about!

  24. some helpful data
    According to the FDA, one may ingest approx 10-25 micrograms of aluminum at any given time. There is no data for injected aluminum.
    Hep b 250 micrograms injected on the first day of life
    Pentacle 330 mcg
    DTaP 330-625 mcg depending on the manufacturer
    Pediarix 850 mcg

    Although mercury has been removed from most vaccines, they still exist in multi dose vials-
    EPA allowable amounts for mercury
    2 ppb (parts per billion) is safe in drinking water
    200 ppb is hazardous
    20,000 ppb= “trace amounts”
    50,000 ppb in multidose vials

  25. I can’t believe anyone thinks it’s OK to let the government force you or coerce you to take pharma products. Any American that wants to let the government dictate religious beliefs is a straight up traitor.

  26. @ janet adel wood
    I love how you make it sound that an unvaccinated child is actually walking around with all the illnesses we vaccinate for in their body.
    If you do just a little research you will see how many outbreaks occurred with in vaccinated populations.
    What about after you inject your children with A live virus vaccine? They can shed it to anyone the first few weeks maybe you should keep them home as well?!
    If you think it’s possible to always keep your children away from germs think again you will never know who’s vaccinated at the grocery or at the park. Maybe if you’re so nervous you should stop vaccinating to keep their immune system strong because vaccines kill the immune system.
    Why are you not nervous for strep, cocksackie, mrsa, roseola…. oh I get it! There are no vaccines for these YET. The second they come out with them people will fear these diseases

  27. “Science” and “medicine” is a religion.
    The fraud that is committed in so called research puts the lies of previous avoda zara to shame.
    It’s all business, just like all previous avoda zara.
    Vaccines are literally made from filth and refuse, are not tested at all and a small amount is injected.
    They are also free of any liabilty in the USA.
    The only product in the USA with no liabilty.
    Alarm bells should be ringing on everyone’s head, for thst alone.
    Is you bake a cake and sell it and someone eats it and claims they became ill from it, you can be taken to court and have to defend yourself.
    Vaccine manufacturers, sellers, administers etc, are free of this.
    If a vaccine causes any injury or death, you must go to the government’s own self appointed “special master” who decides, without any of the discovery of a real trial,whether to award anything.
    The maximum award is $250,000.
    That’s how much the us government thinks your child’s life is worth.
    Since the evil laws inception,over $4.2 billion, has been awarded.
    Harvard medical studied the system and concluded that less than one percent of vaccine injuries are reported. Wake up! Look around! Younger and younger people are getting sicker and sicker, with illnesses that in the past were rare and only found in people of advanced old age.
    Corporations are controlling our government. They pass laws mandating use of their products. Don’t you wish the public would be forced to buy your product?
    Amerika has become a hidden fascist country.
    It’s no longer a secret.
    These insane laws and propaganda prove it.
    None of the so called diseases that vaccines are supposed to protect against are dangerous.
    They were deliberately tampered with to become more deadly, to coerce the unkowing public into vaccination. It’s not new. Vaccination is a fraud from edward jenner until stanley plotkin and on. Sanitation, clean water, and better nutritiin wiped out the so called diseases which really were the consequences of living in squalor with malnutrition.

    But I tell you,DON’T BELIEVE ME!

    RESEARCH ALL THIS YOURSELF AND KNOW THE TRUTH!

    WE ARE IN AN OLAM HASHEKER RULED BY eisav HARASHA Y”S.
    THEY ONLY WORSHIP MONEY. MONEY BUYS POWER.
    DON’T WORSHIP THEM OR THEIR FALSE DOCTRINES.
    The Torah says do not worship false gods. Not the ones near to you or far.
    We learn from the words near and far, that just as the ones near and familiar are false. So are the ones far from you, that you are not familiar with, false.

    The propaganda has been perfected over thr past two millennia. Use your seichel that Hashem gave you.
    THINK!
    WHO IS GAINING FROM THE FEAR MONGERING?

  28. We should do what we can to stop any interference with religious or perceived religious or even just called religious anything.
    We should be trying to preserve as many religious exemptions as possible. Not neccesarily for this but because of what it can lead to.
    Plus who wants the govt telling us what to do.
    I hate seatbelt laws, they only protect ourselves totally not govt business.

  29. If it ain’t broken there is no need to fix it. What the obsession to force jabs into people? From the same people that created an opioid crisis?

  30. As I put in this post, the present who wants the religious exemption removed is at a little above 8%. Can someone please explain to me why most Lakewood mosdos ate giving a very very hard time accepting religious exemptions?
    It became a fad here. Mosdos which have a branch in Brooklyn, where they tried keeping the kids with re until it was completely removed by law, those same mosdos’ in Lakewood give a very hard time. I know many kids who were home at the beginning of this school year, when there was absolutely no outbreak.
    Sadly, this was going on before the so called “measles outbreak” in Lakewood (does anyone know a child here who had the measles????). It is very sad that administrators here are lifnim meshuras hadin with the law.
    May no child be left behind

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