The Record’s online poll from Aug. 23- Sept. 6 asked readers whether they think Texas should tighten laws that make it easy for parents to opt-out of vaccines.
Texas is one of 16 states that allow parents to bypass vaccine requirements for enrolling their kids in school by claiming a conscientious exemption, along with citing medical or religious concerns.
In 2003, House Bill 2292, a 311-page bill that struck out the language limiting religious exemptions to vaccines violating the tenets of “a recognized church or religious denomination” and replaced it with vaguer “religious belief” and added a new exemption category: “reasons of conscience,” was signed into law. The amendment also lowered the bar for medical exemptions, allowing a doctor to sign off if they thought the vaccine would “pose a significant risk” instead of the previous requirement that the vaccine “would be injurious” to a child.”
