ICAN LEGISLATE WARNS MASSACHUSETTS THAT PROPOSED BILLS TO REMOVE RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS VIOLATE FIRST AMENDMENT
ICAN Legislate threatens legal action over Massachusetts bills that seek to remove religious exemptions for required childhood vaccines.
On July 14, ICAN Legislate supporters alerted us to several extremely problematic bills being discussed in the Massachusetts Legislature. We quickly swung into action and instructed our attorneys to draft letters opposing the bills.
Two bills of particular concern are Massachusetts House Bill H.604 (An Act Relative to Routine Childhood Immunizations) and its companion bill in the Massachusetts Senate, S.1391 (An Act Relative to Vaccines and Preventing Future Disease Outbreaks). These bills propose to completely remove the available religious exemption option for vaccinations required for public and private school attendance in Massachusetts.
On July 18, 2023, ICAN Legislate’s attorneys sent a letter to the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Public Health notifying them, in no uncertain terms, that removing the religious exemption, while keeping the secular (medical) exemption, would be flagrantly unconstitutional under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment Free Exercise Clause.
The letter pointedly reminded the legislators that ICAN Legislate’s affiliated organization, ICAN, recently obtained a historic and now permanent legal victory in Mississippi, when a federal judge enjoined its school vaccine law until a religious exemption process was provided. The letter closes by noting that if Massachusetts does elect to pass this law, ICAN Legislate has instructed its attorneys bring litigation—just as it did in Mississippi and other states!
The Committee hearing for these bills occurred on July 26, 2023, and we are pleased to announce there was a strong showing by medical freedom advocates including ICAN Legislate’s lead attorney Aaron Siri. Rest assured, ICAN Legislate will continue to monitor the progress of these bills very carefully and keep you posted on any updates.