This archive report was first published on 17 December 2019.
Published on December 17, 2019, New Jersey lawmakers are moving forward with a bill that would make the state one of the strictest in the country when it comes to vaccine exemptions.
The bill, which has gained support from several lawmakers, including Republican Assembly minority leader Jon Bramnick, has been met with opposition from the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.
According to Avi Schnall, the New Jersey director of Agudath Israel of America, many rabbinical authorities are concerned about the bill because it would eliminate the religious exemption for vaccinations.
‘There is a religious element to vaccines,’ Schnall said. ‘And for the state to eliminate the religious exemption, it sets a precedent, it begins a slippery slope. And it’s not a good place for the state to be telling people, ‘Well, we don’t consider this to be religious, so we are taking it away.’’
