Thousands Protest in NJ as Vaccine Bill to Remove Religious Exemptions Stalls in the Senate

In a big victory for New Jersey citizens and medical and religious freedom, the State’s Senate failed in its attempts to pass a new bill that would have eliminated religious exemptions for vaccinations, according to non-profit Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN). Thousands of parents protested inside and outside the State Capitol for over ten hours on Monday, chanting “Kill the Bill,” “We Will Not Comply” “My Child, My Choice” and “Stay Strong, Lagana!” referring to NJ State Senator Joe Lagana. “This is a victory for the people of the state of New Jersey,” says Del Bigtree, founder of ICAN. “This bill was fast-tracked to steamroll its way to passage, but the good people of New Jersey rose up and reminded politicians who’s really in charge of their children.” Controversial bill S2173 would have put an end to a rule that allowed more than 14,000 state students to skip their vaccines because of their family’s religious beliefs. It was similar to recent bills passed in California and New York State. Earlier Monday, the New Jersey bill passed the State Assembly in a 45-24 vote with seven abstentions State Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), who sponsored the bill, said that he was one vote shy of passage, thus a Senate vote would not be held. The New Jersey Legislature will have an opportunity to revive the bill in January, before its two-year session ends Jan. 13. But if the bill does not pass before Jan. 13, the entire process would have to start over next session.

New Jersey Wants to Restrict Religious Exemptions to Vaccines

We wanted to alert you to some legislative activity threatening vaccine exemptions in New Jersey that requires immediate action. We are asking you to communicate your opposition to S2173 to your legislators right away Tuesday December 10th through the scheduled hearing on Thursday, December 12th. S2173 is scheduled for a hearing in the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019 at 2:00 PM in Committee Room 4, on the 1st Floor of the State House Annex in Trenton. Please attend and testify against this bill if you are able. S2173 places burdensome, discriminatory and intrusive barriers on the exercise of a religious exemption. It requires a parent or guardian to justify their religious exemption by providing notarized sworn written documentation. This includes but isn’t limited to an explanation of the nature of the person’s religious tenet or practice that is implicated by the vaccination, how the administration of the vaccine would violate, contradict or be inconsistent with that tenet or practice, and information that indicates that the religious tenet or practice is consistently held by the person. Also, the bill is at strong risk for being further amended to totally eliminate the religious exemption during the hearing on 12/12/2019 in a similar way the companion bill A3818 was already amended to eliminate the religious exemption. In order for a bill to pass the legislature in New Jersey, it has to pass both houses before it is sent to the governor. A3818 still has to have a full vote by the Assembly and the next possible date for that vote would be Dec. 16, 2019. Calls are needed to oppose companion A3818 as well. The NJ Legislative Session is a two year session that is scheduled to end on 1/7/2020. It is critical that S2173 and A3818 are stopped in this home stretch.

New Jersey Vaccine Extremists Seek to Restrict Religious Exemptions to Vaccines

Currently, 47 out of 50 states in the U.S. allow parents to make decisions regarding administering vaccines to their children, by providing religious and philosophical exemptions. California joined West Virginia and Mississippi in 2015 by removing these exemptions, despite widespread opposition by the public, doctors, and scientists who are not among the vaccine extremists. While it is too early to tell how increased childhood vaccination rates in California will affect childhood health outcomes, West Virginia and Mississippi have some of the worst childhood health outcomes along with high vaccination rates. Now, vaccine extremists in New Jersey want to follow these states and restrict parental choice by passing legislation that restricts conscientious objections to vaccines.

New Jersey Residents Threatened with Arrest and Fines for Possession of Raw Milk

The raw milk wars are heating up again. Raw milk is illegal in New Jersey, so many people who wish to drink pure, unadulterated raw milk direct from the farm, need to cross state lines into neighboring states in order to obtain it. Not satisfied apparently with restricting the production, sale, and distribution of raw milk in New Jersey, state regulators, allegedly backed by the powerful FDA, is going after citizens in New Jersey for mere possession of the banned substance. Furthermore, they are apparently targeting immigrants in the state, mainly from India, where raw milk is a big part of their culture and cuisine. Terrified citizens of New Jersey today fear fines and possible civil action simply for possessing raw milk.

Non-Medical Office Employees Refuse Flu Shot – Lose Jobs

Megan Duncan, Alanda Watson and Denise Mercurius will report to work Friday morning, as they have done every day for years. Once there, they expect to be fired. The three women — employees of Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey, an agency that helps the elderly and the disadvantaged throughout the state — are among a rising number of workers facing termination for refusing to get a flu shot or, as an alternative, wear a surgical mask in the workplace. What differentiates Duncan, Watson and Mercurius from most of those fired, however, is that they're not doctors or nurses, and they don't work in a hospital. They spend their days in a corporate office in suburban Burlington Township, crunching numbers or dealing with billing issues.

Should New Jersey Government Decide What is “Bona Fide” Religion to Refuse Vaccines?

New Jersey politicians are making moves to restrict religious exemptions to refuse vaccines. Bill A1931 is scheduled for a 10:00 am Assembly Health Committee meeting on MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2015. According to NVIC: A1931 requires a written statement "explaining how the administration of the vaccine conflicts with the bona fide religious tenets or practices of the student, or the parent or guardian." As such it requires parents to explain and ultimately justify their deeply held personal and private religious beliefs to the government.

1300+ Lawsuits Against Lipitor Yet Statins Most Prescribed Drug in New Jersey

Bernstein Liebhard LLP is reporting that there are more than 1,300 product liability lawsuits involving Lipitor and diabetes now pending in U.S. District Court. They are also reporting that despite all the alleged injuries due to statin cholesterol-lowering drugs, statin medication now ranks as the most prescribed medication in the state of New Jersey.