A legislative effort in West Virginia to introduce religious exemptions to mandatory vaccinations for young school children has hit a roadblock amidst a rising measles outbreak in parts of the country. At the beginning of the year, Republican Governor Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order in support of religious exemptions for childhood vaccinations. Soon after, the state Senate duly passed a bill to formalize the order into state law. However, on Monday, the House of Delegates voted against the proposed legislation, retaining what is considered one of the nation’s strictest immunization policies.
West Virginia is among a select few U.S. states granting vaccine exemptions solely for medical reasons. The recently rejected bill would have allowed private and religious institutions to independently determine the acceptance of religious exemptions, while the Senate-approved version mandated their acceptance. Both iterations required public schools to accept such exemptions.
Additionally, the Senate passed a measure allowing families to decline vaccinations due to philosophical beliefs, a provision omitted by the House. The vaccination debate in West Virginia is intensifying as measles cases in West Texas and New Mexico reach over 350, with two unvaccinated individuals succumbing to measles-related complications.
The now-dismissed bill also aimed at simplifying medical exemption processes, permitting a child’s healthcare provider to formally inform schools when vaccines may be harmful or unsuitable.
Opposition to the expansion of vaccine exemptions cites public health concerns. Delegate Keith Marple from Harrison County, aged 81, recalled firsthand experiences of seeing polio patients reliant on iron lungs. He stressed the importance of continuing the current vaccination program to protect the state’s children, stating, “I don’t want that on my conscience,” before voting against the legislation.
Despite a lack of a state health officer, the three most recent holders of the position collectively appealed to lawmakers to reject the exemption bill, which the House voted down 56 to 42.
Governor Morrisey’s communications director, Alex Lanfranconi, suggested that the discussion had “sadly derailed” following Morrisey’s attempt to introduce a religious exemption to what he characterized as “unworkable, rigorous mandates.” According to Lanfranconi, West Virginia remains an anomaly by not offering these exemptions, similar to liberal states like California and New York.
In a recent assessment by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Virginia was commended for having incredibly low kindergarten vaccination exemption rates and maintaining high vaccination compliance for young children. The state mandates vaccinations against chickenpox, hepatitis B, measles, meningitis, mumps, diphtheria, polio, rubella, tetanus, and whooping cough prior to school admission, though it excludes the COVID-19 vaccine.
Last year, then-Governor and current U.S. Senator Jim Justice vetoed a lesser proposal on vaccinations that sought to relax requirements for private school and certain public school students. Justice then emphasized deferring to medical experts who mostly opposed the legislation.
Governor Morrisey, who acted as the state attorney general, maintains that religious exemptions should be enforceable under West Virginia’s 2023 Equal Protection for Religion Act. This legislation prohibits the government from substantially burdening religious freedom without a compelling reason.
Morrisey insists this law has not been fully implemented and called for legislative support to enshrine religious vaccination exemptions officially. Following the bill’s defeat, Democratic Delegate Mike Pushkin urged lawmakers to encourage Morrisey to retract his executive order on childhood immunizations.
Nationally, data revealed a decline in U.S. kindergarten vaccination rates in 2023, rising exemptions reaching unprecedented levels, according to statistics released in October.