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As measles continues to spread across the country, state representative Daryl Metcalfe rallied Tuesday to a bill he introduced in January that would prevent doctors refuse to take care of children whose parents have chosen not to vaccinate them.
Bill 286, also known as the Informed Consent Protection Act, would prohibit nurses and other health professionals from telling people that they or their children should be vaccinated. It also states that a health practitioner must not "harass, coerce, reprimand or threaten" a patient or parent for refusing vaccination.
The proposal would prohibit a health insurer from penalizing physicians for their low rates of immunization, while doctors "can not accept a financial incentive from an insurance company or from an insurance company. pharmaceutical laboratory to vaccinate patients or maintain a certain rate of vaccinated patients in their practice ".
At a press conference, Metcalfe, R-Cranberry, said that parents have the right to decide for their children what is in their best interests.
"Whether they choose to vaccinate according to a different schedule, limit the number of vaccines or refuse certain vaccines, parents have the right to make that decision for their child," Metcalfe said. "Our children do not belong to the state. This is not communist Russia. "
"The bill (Metcalfe) seems to indicate that doctors are doing this," said Dr. Mark Roberts, professor and director of the Department of Policy and Health Management at the Graduate School of Public Health in Toronto. University of Pittsburgh. "This is not the point, they say," You can be dangerous for very sick children if you bring an infected and unvaccinated child into my office. "The other thing is that one insurance company must be responsible for the health of a population and if it wishes to give incentives to have a highly vaccinated population, it is their choice. "
During its press conference, Metcalfe presented several
parents and advocates of immunization, including Dr. James Lyons-Weiler, former faculty member of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. Lyons-Weiler called on biomedical researchers around the world to "take seriously everything that comes out of disease control centers on vaccine safety.
"We have a lot of evidence that their DNA is inherently biased to create confidence in vaccines rather than to conduct scientific activities," said Lyons-Weiler. "I have traveled the country and I have seen personal rights ceded, religious rights ceded and doctors sued. We do not want that in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. "
The Pennsylvania School Nurses and Practitioners Association has called Metcalfe's bill a punitive measure punishing health professionals.
"These health professionals, who are the first line of defense in the protection of our children, would be threatened by the loss of their license and by fines for non-compliance with the provisions of this bill" said Kathy Verbel, president of PASNAP.
Metcalfe's proposal
Vaccine legislation coincides with a measles outbreak in the United States that affected more than 700 people in 22 states this year, including an outbreak at Temple University that infected at least 140 people. More than 500 people infected in 22 states have not been vaccinated.
"The fact is that the dramatic increase in the number of measles cases is directly related to unvaccinated people," Roberts said. "This year, a child will die of measles and it was not necessary because a parent decided it was more important to believe that a science denied was literally based on hundreds of millions of examples where a child did not contract the disease because he had been vaccinated. . "
State Representative Dan Frankel, Democratic Chair of the House Health Committee, said he was appalled to see fellow lawmakers introduce and approve anti-vaccination legislation.
"In the face of these unprecedented outbreaks, what is Daryl Metcalfe doing today, trusting the dignity of his office to the nickname
the science of the anti-vaccination community is at best irresponsible, "said Frankel. "The science and safety of vaccines is not in question, nor in doubt. I urge the Metcalfe representative to reconsider his position, especially in the face of ongoing measles outbreaks in our country. These easily preventable diseases should be in the history books and not in the emergency rooms of hospitals. "
Frankel plans to introduce new legislation that would require parents applying for a religious or philosophical exemption to be referred annually by a physician to "understand the existing threats to children's health caused by communicable diseases" and to ensure that children's lives are safe. be informed of any exclusions and quarantine of schools. epidemics.
"Why would Dan Frankel want to seek advice from people indoctrinated by vaccine scouts, the same people that Dan Frankel would turn around and most likely claim that they are pushing opioids but that they should trust them with vaccines?" Metcalfe said. "The hypocrisy of Dan Frankel and others is incredible."
Late Tuesday afternoon, the Pennsylvania Medical Society issued a statement in which it stated that it opposed Metcalfe's legislation and supported vaccination and the introduction of drugs. 39, a vaccination obligation.
"This legislation puts doctors in an untenable position to take care of a patient who will not accept his recommendations," the statement said.
Paul Guggenheimer is an editor of Tribune-Review. You can contact Paul at 724-226-7706 or [email protected].
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